Tilt Rotor-Wing Concept for Multi-Purpose VTOL UAV

Tilt rotor-wing concept to show enhanced performance in low speed mission is presented. Three types of stud wings on the existing tilt rotor configuration are suggested and their characteristics are compared. Aerodynamic analysis indicates that the stud wing concept gives significant performance improvement on the endurance and range in the low speed regime when compared with the tilt rotor. Penalties of the stud wing are discussed from the perspectives of conversion corridor, structural weight, configuration design, and cross wind stability. This study concludes that the advantage of the stud wing in general UAV mission performance is so significant as to surpass the penalties in other perspectives investigated.