Foldable Landing Gears for VTOL Drag Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hybrid VTOL aerial vehicles experience high aerodynamic drag and obstructed camera views due to stationary propellers and landing gears, which affect range, endurance, and situational awareness.
Innovation Solution
Foldable landing gears that retract to form an enclosure around propellers, reducing aerodynamic drag by creating a streamlined shape during flight and aligning propellers with the flight direction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If landing gears are deployed to support the aerial vehicle during landing and take-off, then the vehicle can land and take-off vertically, but aerodynamic drag increases during forward flight
Solution Approach 1:
The landing gear is designed to be movable between a deployed position for vertical landing/take-off and a retracted position for forward flight. The horizontal leg pivots about a vertical axis to transition from extending laterally (deployed) to aligning with the rotor arm axis (retracted), dynamically adapting the structure to different flight phases to minimize aerodynamic drag during forward motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The landing gear transitions from a two-dimensional lateral extension (perpendicular to flight path) to a one-dimensional alignment (parallel to rotor arm axis) during retraction. This dimensional change allows the landing gear to form a streamlined enclosure around the propeller, reducing its projected area and aerodynamic interference with the airflow during forward flight.
2Adaptability or versatility
If stationary propellers are present after vertical take-off, then the rotor system can be used for VTOL, but aerodynamic drag increases during forward flight
Solution Approach 1:
The retracted landing gear structure creates an enclosure that nests around the stationary propeller. The vertical legs of the landing gear are disposed horizontally under the propeller to form a streamlined housing that contains the propeller within the overall vehicle structure, reducing the propeller's aerodynamic interference with forward flight.
3Ease of operation
If landing gears are in deployed position, then the aerial vehicle can be supported on ground, but camera view is obstructed leading to reduced situational awareness
Solution Approach 1:
The landing gear horizontally leg is designed to pivot dynamically between a deployed position (extending laterally for ground support) and a retracted position (aligning with the rotor arm axis). This dynamic reconfiguration allows the landing gear to clear the camera's field of view during forward flight while maintaining ground support capability when deployed.
Data Source
AI summary
An aerial vehicle (AV) 100 includes a rotor system 150 with a set of rotor arms 152 and a set of propellers 154 to provide a lift force during a vertical take-off of the AV 100; and a set of landing gears movably coupled to the rotor arms 152 for movement between a deployed position to support the aerial vehicle 100 during landing and take-off, and a retracted position to form an enclosure 210 around the set of propellers 154 to reduce aerodynamic drag during a forward movement of the AV 100 after the vertical take-off. The sets of landing gears can includes a pair of L-shaped landing gears 200, a C-shaped cross sectional landing gears, an another C-shaped cross sectional landing gears, a U-shaped slidable landing gears, and a flap-shaped slidable landing gears.