As we know, Drones have a wide variety of sizes, forms, configurations, and features. VTOL drones are the latest innovation in the drone industry and are rapidly gaining popularity as a flying trend. They have specific features that are beneficial to various enterprises. Do you want to know what does VTOL stand for? This article helps you to know in detail about VTOL, its features, types and how they work.
What are VTOL Drones?
The VTOL refers to Vertical Take-Off and Landing, a drone that can take off and land vertically without using a runway. It is widely recognized that VTOL UAVs can cover long distances with efficiency and flexibility. VTOL drones can fly anywhere at any time. At present, VTOL drones are in use in several industrial fields such as surveying, mapping, surveillance etc.
Features of VTOL Drones:
When using VTOL drones we will come to know that this drone has many advantages. The best feature of this drone is that it can fly smoothly with less takeoff space. In general everything has two sides. Though the VTOL UAV has many advantages, it must also have relative disadvantages and we will get to learn in detail below.
Advantages of VTOL Drones:
The following list of noteworthy advantages of VTOL drones will help you in making your decision.
1. Mission flexibility:
VTOL drones save space and are not limited by geography since they do not require a runway to take off.
2. Versatility:
The VTOL UAV has almost no operational limitations and is widely used in a variety of sectors like mapping, surveying, and surveillance.
3. Efficient maneuverability:
VTOL drones are said to be more maneuverable because of their ability to adjust the relative speed of each rotor that changes the thrust and torque.
4. High agility:
When compared to that of the traditional air vehicles, VTOL drones show exceptional agility and high cruising speed.
Disadvantages of VTOL Drones:
After knowing about the advantages of VTOL, you might be eager to get your own VTOL drone. But please take your time. Let’s look into the disadvantages of using them for VTOL UAVs. Then, it will help you in making a choice.
1. Limited payload:
The aircraft’s weight is gradually increased by the VTOL system, thereby it limits the amount of payload which can be carried.
2. Complex system:
The complexity of VTOL systems is greater than that of the traditional UAV systems. They are more difficult to operate since they need sophisticated technologies like lift systems and multiple engines.
3. High consumption:
VTOL drone consumers require more energy even if it is for eVTOL UAV or fuel VTOL UAV which makes them expensive to operate and maintain.
4. Noise:
VTOL aircraft are typically noisier than that of conventional drones because of their larger size and multiple engines.
Types of VTOL Drones:
There are many types of VTOL drones, and each drone has a unique set of classification. VTOL drones are generally classified based on their design, propulsion, and flight mode.
1. Types of VTOL Drones According to Propulsion:
Propulsion by engine:
There are different kinds of VTOL drones, but the most common types included are rotary, gas/combustion turbine, reciprocating engines etc.
- To convert pressure into rotational power, a reciprocating engine uses piston movement
- The pressure generated by burning fuel is used by gas/combustion turbine engines for producing thrust and encouraging turbine movement.
- A rotating engine has the engine’s rotor which travels between chambers, making the gas expand and contract.
Propulsion by motor:
We are familiar with motor-powered VTOL drones as motor power is used in various drone applications. Three different motor types are battery-powered, hybrid, and solar-powered.
- Solar-powered motors do not depend on fuel or batteries to power themselves; instead, they use solar energy.
- In Battery-powered motors, batteries are generally used to power the drone motors.
- Hybrid motors use various energy sources as the majority are powered by fuel and electricity.
2. Types of VTOL Drones According to Flight Mode:
We can classify VTOL drones according to their flight mode as mentioned below:
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Conventional landing and takeoff (CTOL):
By using conventional flight modes, such as normal fixed-wing UAVs and hybrid vertical takeoff and landing, CTOL has greater requirements for the takeoff environment and requires large space during takeoff than VTOL.
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Short take-off and landing (STOL):
It is almost identical to a conventional flight mode but uses a shorter runway for takeoff and landing, making it suitable for distant locations with limited space.
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Short takeoff and Vertical landing(STOVL):
It takes off from the short runways to enable vertical landing, because it hardly takes off vertically.
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Vertical or short take-off and landing (V/STOL):
When Compared to short takeoff and vertical landing, vertical or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) allows for both vertical and vertical landings over the short runways.
3. VTOL Drone Types According to Design:
According to their designs, VTOL drones are primarily divided into two main types, they are Power lift drones and Rotorcraft drones.
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Rotorcraft Drones:
These types of drones use propellers to get into complete flight. Generally, a propeller is connected to the motor. When compared to fixed wing drones, they are more efficient and have a wider range.
- Power lift drones:
Power lift drones take off and land vertically by using engine power unlike rotorcraft drones.
How do VTOL Drones Work?
To get vertical takeoff and landing, the VTOL UAV’s propeller generally uses a rotating propeller or jet engine for altering the thrust direction up or down. During horizontal flight, Airfoil control offers lift and propulsion. To get the conversion between vertical takeoff and landing and horizontal flight, VTOL UAVs use a combination of fixed wings and rotors in their airfoil design.
- Take-off stage
Vertical take-off occurs on converting the thrust to vertical thrust and altering a propeller’s operating condition.
- Flight stage
To get horizontal flight, the thrust is being converted to horizontal thrust on changing the drone frame condition.
- Landing stage
The thrust is converted into vertical thrust to get a vertical landing on changing the operating condition of propellar.
