‘I’d like a plane-helicopter combo, thanks’

Imagine a vehicle that can take off vertically like a helicopter and then flip over to fly forward like a conventional plane.

Introducing the T-Wing: a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that could provide cheaper and more efficient surveillance and exploration.

Dr.Hugh Stone, an aeronautical engineer from the University of Sydney, and his team have been carrying out test flights on the T-Wing.

Dr. Stone began the research as a PhD project and says, “It can take off and land like a helicopter. It doesn’t need a runway”.



‘Convertiplanes’, such as the T-Wing, that convert from helicopter to plane mode were developed by combining the strongest features of both vehicles.

Although helicopters can take off, hover and land vertically, they are not as efficient at forward flight when compared to a conventional aircraft and hence do not fly as fast or as far.

“Other UAV convertiplanes use helicopter type propeller blades and more complex and expensive technology to control the movement of the vehicle. But the T-Wing uses fixed propellers, like a standard aircraft” says Stone. The aircraft can change direction and hover using the moving flaps that sit in the airstream behind the propellers and are controlled by an onboard computer system.

However, like other similar vehicles, the T-Wing does have its short-comings too – such as being unstable.

In order to keep the vehicle hovering, the flaps need to move 50 times a second!

So far, the team from the University of Sydney have successfully tested a prototype that stands at 1.5 metres high with a wingspan of 2.4 metres, weighing in at 30 kilos.

The tests proved that the aircraft could fly autonomously (except while landing, when it was assisted from the ground radio control). The aircraft cannot be flown by radio control from the ground, although in the case of an emergency, it is possible to communicate with the onboard computer system.

Want to see how a pane-helicopter combo works? For the original article and a video of the test flight, click here (wmv 12MB).

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