Examining a Tandem-Rotor Configuration for the Electric Urban Air Mobility Mission

Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles for the urban air mobility mission have seen increased interest in the past five years spurred by rapid improvements in battery and brush-less motor technology. Because of ease of implementation and perceived increase in safety, most designs utilize distributed propulsion through numerous directly-powered small lifting rotors or propellers. This investigation instead considers the largely-overlooked tandemrotor configuration, presents three notional designs, and considers the potential benefits and limitations of such a configuration for the urban air mobility role.