Can land on moving surfaces: a unique Transwing transformer drone with folding wings was shown in the US
Pterodynamics, together with the U.S. Navy, has conducted a flight test of the Transwing drone, with vertical takeoff/landing and deployable wings, demonstrating its ability to autonomously land on a moving platform. Its folding wings provide exceptional range and payload.
The Transwing design is an unusual approach that offers significant advantages. At its core, it is a transitional eVTOL glider with cruise capability, but the way it changes shape between hover and cruise modes makes it one of the most promising drones.
Its wings consist of a fully extended horizontal plane to a pressed to the sides vertical plane, like a boom wing crossed with a slant wing. The four propellers, spaced across the wings, are locked in place and rotate from a horizontal position to a vertical upward position when the wings are folded.
The drone is compact on the ground but has a huge wingspan in the air. There is none of the added weight of inclined propulsion systems or the added weight and drag of a lift-and-cruise structure whose lifting propellers are useless in cruising mode. The rear ends of the nacelle of the propulsion system serve as landing points, which saves additional weight of the supports or chassis.
This makes it the lightest vertical takeoff and landing transitional airframe design with the highest lift and lowest drag, giving it a new level of efficiency that increases payload and range.
The Transwing can be packed into a box or crate for transportation in a compact vertical takeoff and landing mode, ready to fly. You don’t even need to remove the propellers, the blades fold back into the nacelles when not spinning, meaning you can travel on just two propellers to further increase efficiency and range.
Pterodynamics has built a number of prototypes, the current model being the X-P4 with a wingspan of 4 meters. It is capable of lifting a payload of 6.8 kg with a maximum takeoff weight of 38 kg, and then covering a distance of 111 km per hour at cruising speed. It can reach a top speed of 185 km/h.
Tests have shown that the Transwing is capable of landing on any moving surface, such as the body of a moving truck, which is convenient for military use. But its superior range has made the US Navy interested in the Transwing as a ship-to-ship logistics platform that autonomously delivers cargo that would require a very expensive helicopter with a pilot.
