Design and Testing of VTOL UAV Cyclocopter with 4 Rotors

A cyclocopter propelled by the cycloidal blade system is a new concept of VTOL vehicle which has excellent hovering characteristics when compared with helicopters. The cycloidal blade system, which can be described as a horizontal rotary wing, offers powerful thrust levels, and a unique ability to change the direction of the thrust almost instantly. In this study, an unmanned-scaled cyclocopter is designed and developed by an optimization process to show that cycloidal blade system can be used for an alternative VTOL vehicle. The radius of rotor, the chord and the span of blades, the number of blades of the cyclocopter under development are 0.85m, 0.22m, 1m, and 4, respectively. Four rotors rotate at each side of a main fuselage in the opposite direction. The nominal rotating speed is 450RPM and to reduce relatively high centrifugal force, the blades are fabricated of carbon composite materials. Also micro scale cyclocopter is developed and it shows good hovering characteristics under fastened condition.