PteroDynamics X-P4

Using a grumman wing fold like that is neat, but I wonder if it'd be lighter/easier to have a variable incidence wing with a simple hinge at the first nacelle.
 
sienar said:
Using a grumman wing fold like that is neat, but I wonder if it'd be lighter/easier to have a variable incidence wing with a simple hinge at the first nacelle.
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That would result in a "tilt wing" while in VTOL, rather than a "quad copter." This setup would seem to create a much more controllable and stable VTOL platform.
 
sublight_ said:
Anyone know why they are using the "floppy" propellers?
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I mentioned this in the eVTOL thread. They're using props which collapse against the nacelle when not under load. A big benefit is that the aircraft can cruise in horizontal flight on just two motors, with the other two stopped and their props contributing little drag.
 
I wonder how well this concept could scale up.
 
I wonder if this is now a single point of failure design from a safety perspective. If one of the wings gets stuck in transformation can you still safely land?
 
Please notice how light is the model. The demo doesn't prove anything regarding scalability. Hence, give to this video as much credence as the famous flying lawnmower...
 
TomcatViP said:
Please notice how light is the model. The demo doesn't prove anything regarding scalability. Hence, give to this video as much credence as the famous flying lawnmower...
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Lots of small drones out there.
 
Reaper said:
I wonder if this is now a single point of failure design from a safety perspective. If one of the wings gets stuck in transformation can you still safely land?
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Why would only one get stuck?
 
sferrin said:
I wonder how well this concept could scale up.
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The New Atlas article mentions a hypothetical 10-seat TransWing fitting in the same footprint as the 5-seat Joby or 7-seat Lilium aircraft.
But the concept is capable of scaling much larger, up to eVTOL air taxi size and beyond. Indeed, a Transwing design could potentially fly 10 or more people from rooftop to rooftop, while fitting on the same helipad that a five-seat Joby or seven-seat Lilium might use.
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But the author does not indicate whether that's an estimate from Ptero or his own prognostication.
 
sferrin said:
I wonder how well this concept could scale up.
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I would suspect not terribly well. That pivot would get heavy quick. That said, if this works as well as seems to, something of this scale to somewhat larger would seem a fine package delivery vehicle. "Package" being anything from Amazon boxes to ammo reloads to bombs. Put sensors and target designators on it and it would seem likely to be useful.
 
sferrin said:
Reaper said:
I wonder if this is now a single point of failure design from a safety perspective. If one of the wings gets stuck in transformation can you still safely land?
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Why would only one get stuck?
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two could get stuck too, but if one is already enough to make it unsafe then you dont even need to check the second ;)
 
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