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Drone E-1

18.8k Zippy6  6.4 years ago

This is a prototype of a drone that I am building for my Engineering class.

Problem statement: With any quadcopter drone a portion of thrust is lost due to drag created by the drones "arms" being in the way of the prop wash. In order to overcome this problem, simply use more power from the motors. However this requires more energy consumption and reduces flight time. To increase flight time, add a larger energy scource. But now the drone is heavier which requires more power to fly and so mre power is used nessesitating a larger energy scource and so the cycle continues.
Goal: To utilize aerodynamics and lightweight 3D printing to reduce drag and and weight and thus increasing the drones efficiency.

WHOOPS ALMOST FORGOT CONTROLS!!!
W-A-S-D to tilt, Q-E rotate, Up on TRIM to retract landing gear, and Ag8 to turn lights off/on.

I do plan to 3D print large parts of this drone including the motor mounts, fuselage, motor arms and possibly even circuit boards.
This drone is to showcase the future of two amazing technologies.

General Characteristics

  • Successors 1 airplane(s)
  • Created On Windows
  • Wingspan 23.0ft (7.0m)
  • Length 32.2ft (9.8m)
  • Height 14.4ft (4.4m)
  • Empty Weight 6,130lbs (2,780kg)
  • Loaded Weight 6,554lbs (2,972kg)

Performance

  • Horse Power/Weight Ratio 0.457
  • Wing Loading 232.0lbs/ft2 (1,132.6kg/m2)
  • Wing Area 28.3ft2 (2.6m2)
  • Drag Points 9329

Parts

  • Number of Parts 84
  • Control Surfaces 0
  • Performance Cost 324