In August, at the 9th International Specialized Exhibition “Aerospace Technologies, Modern Materials and Equipment” (АКТО), a team of developers from KNRTU-KAI took the Grand Prix. Nikita Levshonkov, the associate Professor, Department of structures and aircraft engineering, told us about convertiplane, about it’s characteristics and where it can be applied.

The beginning

It all started with aircraft with turning wings, then we refined schemes, increased the payload. Since 2015, a team of more than 20 employees and students of the Department of Aircraft Constructions and Design (КИПЛА) KNRTU-KAI has been working on the development.

An unmanned aerial vehicle of vertical take-off and landing represents a vehicle flying in two modes: vertical (lifting with cap screws) and horizontal (using a cruising engine). When the machine rises, control rests entirely on the engine. Next, the cruise engine turns on, and the drone flies horizontally. It is controlled automatically by the on-board computer. But for debugging modes, it is possible to use the control panel (range up to two kilometers).

Specifications

The convertoplan can accelerate to 140 km / h, climb to an altitude of 1 km and has a flight range of up to 100 km. The engine runs on Premium Unleaded (in Russian АИ-95) fuel, and the maximum flight duration is one hour (1 liter of fuel is consumed). The cost of an unmanned vehicle with a payload of 1 kg - up to 800 thousand rubles, depending on the configuration.

The main component of the convertoplane is the fuselage, which contains the main elements (engine, gas tank). Also here is the most important component - the program that controls the device, fully created by the programmers of KNRTU-KAI. The second part is a lifting system, represented by four motor systems, coaxial screws are attached both from above and below. The main advantage of coaxial screws is the increase in thrust with restrictions on the diameter of the screws.

The stages of development testing

First, the adjustment of the angular stabilization is performed when the convertiplane rises with the help of lifting motors. The device is put on the "rocker", rotating at any angle. The program selects the thrust coefficient of each engine so as to keep the convertiplane in equilibrium.

Then the unmanned vehicle is suspended on a cable suspension, in this state it can move back and forth and left and right. At this stage, stabilization is also carried out: the program changes the dynamic coefficients.

At the next stage, the apparatus is tested at the facility for simulating flight conditions. The development is suspended on the cardan mount, and the installation creates a horizontal speed of up to 60 km / h. The creators must adjust the control of the rudders in order to keep the device horizontally in flight.

The convertoplan is placed on the ground, the starting orientation is determined, then it rises vertically (according to the program or from the control panel). After climbing to a predetermined altitude, the cruise engine turns on, the vehicle accelerates and switches to airplane flight mode. Lifting motors are turned off.

When the convertiplane from one point falls into another, the team tracks its movements using GPS. The data is recorded in the registrar, and then analyzed.

The advantages of the development and the field of application

Takeoff is carried out by helicopter. The convertiplane can hang at one point for a long time, making, for example, video or photography. In addition, it does not require a runway. The device can take off from any site using automatic control without additional devices. The modular design not only facilitates, but also reduces the cost of maintenance, since it is possible to replace a specific unit or module.

That’s why the field of convertiplane application is very wide: it is energy and communications (mapping, monitoring of power lines, communication lines, other objects), road facilities (road condition assessment, aerial photography of roads and railways, roadside conditions), agriculture (aerial photography) and mapping of agricultural land, observation and monitoring of agricultural crops), oil and gas producing industries and, of course, the defense sector.

About customers

Customers received two vehicles that differ in take-off mass and payload. In the future, the developers plan to move on to the creation of large-sized aircraft with a payload of several tens of kilograms. According to the creators, in Russia there is a need for large scale convertiplanes up to 6 tons, with a payload of 500 to 1000 kg. Accordingly, the creation of new technologies and new investments are necessary for this device.