Our idea of what drones can do is changing. As the public safety UAS industry has matured, so have the capabilities of aircraft. These aircraft vary in size, application, and propulsion type, providing users with specialized solutions that meet their needs. Vertical Take Off and Landing, or VTOL, aircraft are one of these many developing platforms.
But how does the performance of a VTOL compare to that of conventional quadcopters? What advantages can it offer to the public safety sector? We answer those questions here.
Rotary-wing drones, like quadcopters, can take off and land anywhere. Quadcopters also have exceptional maneuverability.
Fixed-wing aircraft trade maneuverability for efficiency. They rely on a fixed airfoil for lift, lowering the load on the motors and increasing battery efficiency. As a result, they offer greater endurance, range, and payload capacity than quadcopters.
VTOLs are fixed-wing aircraft that can take off and land like a quadcopter. Regarded as “the best of both worlds,” they offer flexibility with the efficiency of conventional fixed-wing aircraft.
(While quadcopters are technically VTOLs, we want to clarify that in this article, the term refers to fixed-wing VTOL aircraft.)
VTOLs achieve impressive capabilities with either thrust-vectoring jet engines (used on modern military jets) or a tilt-rotor design. While these two propulsion systems are technically different, their premise is the same: thrust is directed downwards for takeoff/landing and horizontally for forward flight.
As you can imagine, the transition between vertical and horizontal flight is crucial to get right. Fortunately, onboard flight computers make the maneuver easy. The pilot can bring the aircraft from a hover to forward flight with a simple command or joystick input.
It’s no surprise then that VTOLs have the edge over quadcopters across several mission sets. They especially excel in missions that require:
Despite their great range and endurance, VTOLs sacrifice performance in two key areas — two areas where quadcopters excel.
Quadcopters are optimal for scenarios that require:
Drone technology has progressed enough to make VTOLs accessible to the mainstream enterprise market, including:
Of course, there are caveats to the incredible capabilities of VTOLs; they cannot replace rotary-wing and fixed-wing drones. As mentioned, hybrid designs require compromise, and VTOLs are no exception. Moreover, these aircraft are significantly more expensive than conventional designs.
What aircraft type should your agency choose? The answer depends on your mission requirements. If your UAS team is deploying to static incidents, they may be better off with a quadcopter. On the other hand, if your agency needs to patrol a wide area — a county or portion of the border — a VTOL will be the better solution.
Questions? The FLYMOTION team is ready to help! You can get started by filling out the form below.