Lightning
About
Project Lightning aims to design a highly manoeuvrable tailsitter UAV, aiming to travel at high speeds and pull high Gs when cornering. The aircraft will have a wingspan of 0.8m and will be manufactured from a mix of composite materials and lightweight foam which will help minimise weight.
Design
Project Lightning is an engineering challenge to develop a highly manoeuvrable tailsitter drone. The drone features 2 powerful forward facing motors which provide airflow for control in both hover and horizontal flight modes. Using lightweight design and large control surfaces with strong control authority the aircraft will be able to pull fast, tight turns registering in excess of 10g. With a 0.8m wingspan, 1.7kg weight and theoretical top speed of 116m/s Lightning has been developed with high performance in mind. Unlike most tail sitter drones, project lightning features a highly cambered main airfoil which offers Clmax of 2 to provide maximum lift in turn along with a power to weight ratio of 3:1 allowing for aggressive manoeuvres to be performed.
