Unmanned tiltrotor. An unexpected breakthrough. Russian tiltrotor exploded the drone market

Unmanned tiltrotor.  An unexpected breakthrough.  Russian tiltrotor exploded the drone market
Unmanned tiltrotor. An unexpected breakthrough. Russian tiltrotor exploded the drone market

A tiltrotor is an unusual device, in many ways reminiscent of a helicopter. Moreover, its speed and flight range are much greater.

There are devices that are much superior to conventional helicopters both in speed and flight range, but they do not require a long runway for takeoff and landing. This is a hybrid of an airplane and a helicopter - the so-called tiltrotors. A tiltrotor, like a helicopter, due to design feature propellers belong to the class of rotary-wing aircraft, but in some ways these devices also resemble vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

Design

In order for the tiltrotor to move through the air, it is equipped with lightly loaded low-speed propellers. They are very similar to helicopter ones and allow it to move in helicopter mode - with a small angle of rotation of the propellers. In addition, the tiltrotor also has large propellers. These propellers help it during vertical takeoff.

Unfortunately, tiltrotors are slower than airplanes, but faster than helicopters. This technique also has other features. Due to the heaviness of the device due to the design of the engine, as well as the high complexity of piloting, requiring the skill of the pilot, tiltrotors are used only for a limited range of tasks. For example, if you need to deliver cargo to a place where a helicopter cannot reach, and the plane does not have enough space to land.


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Usage

For our country, tiltrotors are not new. The first models, operating similarly to modern tiltrotors, were created in the USSR even before the war. For example, a biplane project was made, the rotating propellers of which were located between the wings. But the Falcon fighter, designed in 1934, is considered to be the closest to classic tiltrotors. However, despite its long history, tiltrotors have not become widespread in our country due to significant shortcomings and limited range of applications.

The same cannot be said about the US Department of Defense, which has these devices in its arsenal. Unfortunately, so far their tiltrotors are not cost-effective and reliable. Thus, the Bell V-22 "Osprey" models ordered for Marine Corps The USA has shown itself to be unreasonably expensive and blatantly unreliable. Tiltrotor accidents have claimed the lives of dozens of people.


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Ours, domestic

However, the failures of the United States are not a reason to put an end to the very idea of ​​​​a tiltrotor. Russian Helicopters company, owned by state corporation Rostec considered the device promising. This is how the unmanned tiltrotor RHV-35 appeared in our country. The RHV-35 drone is used for a variety of purposes: for photography, for monitoring the environmental situation, etc. The drone can also be used to deliver small cargo, such as medicine, to hard-to-reach areas.

The RHV-35 drone is a small device, which fully meets its objectives. Its weight is 35 kg, it can rise to a height of up to two kilometers and carry a payload of up to 6 kg. The drone's flight range in automatic mode is about 450 km. The drone is driven by a hybrid power plant, allowing it to accelerate to 140 km/h.


http://quadrocopters.su/

Thus, the RHV-35 will not only complement the equipment of our Ministry of Defense, but will also help Russia study the tiltrotor mechanism in practice. Perhaps our engineers will be able to take into account the shortcomings inherent in predecessor devices and create a perfect machine, superior to both an airplane and a helicopter.

Yaroslav Grigoriev

UAV of the “convertiplane” design before testing / Photo: minpromtorg.gov.ru

Specialists from FSUE TsAGI have completed the next cycle of work on an unmanned aerial vehicle of the “convertiplane” design.

This promising aircraft combines the advantages of a helicopter (the ability to take off and land vertically) and an airplane (speed, range and flight duration). It is designed to monitor the underlying surface and solve transport problems. The drone is capable of being based on unequipped small sites and in the future can be used in various industries.

“Experiments have shown that, in general, the aerodynamic configuration is characterized by an expectedly high level of aerodynamic perfection for this class of aircraft.”

basis aircraft This class is a straight wing of moderate aspect ratio. It is composed of thick profiles and designed by junior research fellow department of aerodynamics of aircraft and rockets of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "TsAGI" Oleg Kudryavtsev and chief designer of JSC "INNOTECH" Evgeny Kovalenko.

The experiments carried out showed that, in general, the aerodynamic configuration is characterized by an expectedly high level of aerodynamic perfection for this class of aircraft. “This was made possible thanks to an integrated approach to the design of the wing and the layout as a whole, the right choice main criteria. There is still a lot of work ahead in the field of dynamics, stability and controllability, ensuring the strength and aeroelasticity of the structure,” said Alexander Kornushenko, head of the sector of the aircraft and missile aerodynamics department of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise TsAGI, head of work on the aerodynamics of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

In 2016, it is planned to continue testing the unmanned vehicle in experimental facilities of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise TsAGI. The research will make it possible to obtain a data bank of aerodynamic characteristics, test numerical calculation methods, and identify the features of flow around the configuration in a wide range of angles of attack in airplane and helicopter modes, the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade reported.

Technical information

Unmanned aerial reconnaissance complex ERA-50 and ERA-100

The first prototype of the unmanned tiltrotor "Era-50" made its first flight on February 12, 2014. By April, several test flights were carried out, their completion is scheduled for the end of March 2014. The Era-50 UAV has a launch weight of about 5 kg with a target load weight of up to 500 grams, the interlocutor specified.


UAV type "Era" / Photo: arsenal-otechestva.ru

The New Technologies company completed all the necessary three-dimensional computer models details. Next, information about the configuration of the parts was loaded into a 3D printer, which produced the parts of the future drone. Inexpensive but at the same time durable ABS plastic was chosen as the main material for the body and wings.

Factory testing of the Era-50 unmanned aerial reconnaissance, surveillance and monitoring system with vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was planned to be completed at the end of March 2014, reported chief designer New Technologies LLC Eldar Razroev. He explained that the Era-50 tiltrotor has four electric motors, which are located at the ends of the wing consoles and drive four two-bladed propellers. All four propeller-motor groups are rotary.


The tiltrotor takes off vertically like a helicopter, then the engines on the wings turn about 90 degrees and the device flies like an airplane. The interlocutor noted that the biggest difficulty in implementing the project is ensuring flight in conversion modes, that is, the transition from a vertical ascent or descent of the device to its horizontal position for flight like an airplane. Now the device flies normally in all modes, including the most complex transition modes.

The control mode itself is automatic, but in transient modes it is now optionally controlled, that is, it allows intervention in the control system. After completion of factory tests, a stage of improvements will follow. It is expected that in the coming months the device will be finalized and will practically become a “commodity,” said the chief designer.

According to E. Razroev, the company is developing two types of tiltrotors - “Era-50” weighing 5 kg and “Era-100” weighing 20 kg.

The Era-100 tiltrotor was demonstrated at the Integrated Security exhibition in Moscow in the fall of 2013. The tiltrotor is equipped with four electric motors with a power of 2700 W each. They are located at the ends of the consoles and drive four two-blade propellers.

Since the UAV is built according to a tiltrotor design, all four propeller-engine groups are designed to rotate on the wing.

The longest flight duration and range are achieved at a cruising speed of 150 km/h. Flight testing of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the new aerodynamic tiltrotor design "Era-50" is planned to begin in February 2015, reported CEO Aeroxa LLC Eduard Razroev.

According to him, the first few UAVs have now been put into production, and their testing will begin in February. The drones themselves, like aircraft, have already been tested and are in production as serial ones, but will be developed according to automatic system control and navigation. While the first prototypes of the "Era-50" were tested "on the handle", that is, in manual mode management.

“The task is to “teach” the drone to fly on autopilot according to the program,” the source said. The production of new UAVs has been mastered in Kazan, where design department companies. Some of the technological equipment for the production of Era-50 is produced under contracts at several other enterprises.


Characteristics of the Era-100 UAV


MOSCOW, WEAPONS OF RUSSIA, Stanislav Zakaryan
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Everyone knows this. And now we are presenting a tiltrotor with a hybrid drive. In earlier publications, we wrote about a small-class unmanned tiltrotor, which did not need to provide precise stabilization in hovering mode and in transient modes. A quick start with a simultaneous transition to horizontal flight is not

created special problems with stabilization. Now the device has grown. Quick start will not work. Stabilization issues arise very acutely.

Where did it all start? From a quadcopter model purchased at a toy store:

And everything would be fine, but it doesn’t fly for long (batteries) and has no payload capacity (engine power). But the stabilization system is ideal. The first decision was to “add some spice” to the device. We added 2 propellers driven by the engine internal combustion through one shaft. We have never seen such a “jet” takeoff. After a few seconds, the device turned into a dot in the sky. The fit was perfect. Having realized that the scheme works, we decided to develop it. We received a patent. Anyway, the story in pictures:

Attention! All images are schematic and real view tiltrotors have nothing to do with it. We demonstrate the principle.

Then with the wings and fuselage:

Yes, part of the wing is rotatable to increase the efficiency of the main propellers.

Then, either for aesthetic reasons (too many fans), or the OSPREY tiltrotor design gave us no rest, the following was born:

Attention! All images are schematic and have nothing to do with the actual appearance of the TRH-14 tiltrotor. We demonstrate the principle.

Yes, yes, yes... The main propellers (1) driven by the internal combustion engine (3) and the stabilizing propellers (4) driven by electric motors (2) are located coaxially. The task of the main propellers is ensuring uniform (through the use of common shaft(5)) lift. The task of stabilizing propellers is maintaining the tiltrotor in a horizontal position, compensation negative influence external factors(atmospheric fluctuations, for example) on the operation of the main propellers. The electric motors are powered by a generator electric current and, as a backup, from batteries. Having gone wild with our fantasies, we added the ability to change the thrust vector of the stabilizing propellers (the figure shows the alpha angle) to ensure greater maneuverability in hovering mode.

The result was a fairly solid design (Patent 142287):

Possible tiltrotor options for various tasks. Moreover, we worked out the nuances of the design so that the choice of option was carried out on the assembly line, and not designed from scratch:

So, a tiltrotor drone has simple system stabilization, high load capacity and long range. What else is needed for a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle? Payload - 50-70 kilograms. Not enough? But for people in trouble, 50-70 kilograms of food and means of survival before the arrival of basic help is not enough? Is 50-70 kg of reconnaissance equipment not enough? What about 50-70 kg of air-to-ground missiles? And further… Even a child can land this device on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

Now another patent application has been filed. We are taking him to an exhibition in Switzerland. We would like to say a big hello to aircraft modelers from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

That's all for now. Thank you for your attention.

So, the very first display of the development at the INVENTIONS GENEVA exhibition brought us a gold medal:

MOSCOW, July 22 – RIA Novosti. Convertiplanes and heavy drones are being created for the Russian Armed Forces, said Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

Work, he said, is going on “in all directions,” and “the unmanned field is developing.” Small, medium and large drones are being created, including tiltrotors.

In future unmanned vehicles will be able to work in a “pack”, integrating into unified system management, Bondarev said. The emergence of such a system will significantly reduce the cost of training drone operators.

“Training a pilot is more expensive than installing a good autopilot on a plane. If now an operator can control one or two drones, then over time, with the development of the ground component, he will be able to control five or even ten devices,” explained the commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces.

Previously, Bondarev noted that in the future, unmanned aircraft - unobtrusive and more stable in combat conditions - will be able to solve strategic strike missions.

Unmanned tiltrotor RHV-30

The VR-Technology design bureau of the Russian Helicopters holding presented at the air show prototype modernized tiltrotor drone RHV-30 - it recently completed the next stage of flight testing.

Convertiplanes are vehicles with one or more screw engines located in rotating nacelles. During takeoff and landing, they operate like lifts, using the helicopter principle. In horizontal flight, the engines turn parallel to the ground and act as thrusters.

As a result, the car can take off from any site - it does not need a runway - and move at the speed of an airplane. However, it is technically difficult to implement such an idea, and today the only production tiltrotor is the American Bell V-22 Osprey.

The Russian RHV-30 should enter the second stage of testing this year - it will be tested in various modes flight, weather conditions and with target payload elements. The start of mass production is expected at the end of 2018.

The device is equipped with four three-blade engines in rotating nacelles. In horizontal flight, it is supported in the air by two rigid wings with tips curved upward. It can accelerate to 140 kilometers per hour, cover a distance of 100 kilometers and rise to a height of up to three thousand meters. The RHV-30 can lift up to five kilograms of payload into the air.

Russia has developed a “nervous system” for future aircraftThe latest aircraft structural condition monitoring system is developed based on the principles of operation nervous system living organisms. The developers believe that this should significantly improve flight safety.

"RHV-30 can be used for monitoring the environmental situation, patrolling coastal waters, including the Arctic, mapping the area, monitoring technical condition various objects,” explained the press service of Russian Helicopters. For military purposes, the tiltrotor can be used for reconnaissance.

Based on the machine, it is planned to create a tiltrotor with a take-off weight of up to two tons, with an increased payload weight.

Drones at MAKS-2017

Unmanned vehicles became a separate item in the MAKS-2017 program. Russian Helicopters presented prototypes of helicopter-type UAVs VRT300 for the first time at the aviation forum.

The device is being developed in two versions: Arctic Supervision - with a side-view radar for ice reconnaissance and Opticvision - with an increased flight range for monitoring and remote sensing.

Thanks to its diesel engine and ship-based capability, the Arctic version of the VRT300 is indispensable “both on icebreakers and on drilling platforms,” Russian Helicopters emphasizes.

“The technical solutions used in VRT300 will make it possible to determine the thickness of the ice in advance and optimize the course (of the vessel - editor’s note) in accordance with the data received,” said the holding’s general director Andrei Boginsky.

Russian Helicopters notes special interest in the development from China, which plans to become one of the operators of the Northern Sea Route.

The Kronstadt group announced during the air show that it is beginning to promote the Orion-E heavy reconnaissance drone for export.

According to the company's general director Armen Isahakyan, the device is ready for mass production. “We expect to occupy our niche in the field of heavy drones,” he said.

The Orion-E complex includes four to six drones and a ground station. According to the designers, it is “one hundred percent new”: the design uses parts that have not previously been used in other models.


UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE – CONVERTIOLAN “VR-TECHNOLOGIES”

TILTROTOR – UAVS “VR-TECHNOLOGIES”

17.02.2016


The unmanned tiltrotor, which has no analogues, successfully passed the next stage of testing, making its first flight. The creator of the device was the innovative design bureau “VR-Technologies” of the Russian Helicopters holding company. Oil and gas companies and various departments are showing interest in the unique development.
“Work on creating a unique machine began in 2015. During this time, we have achieved significant results and have already begun the first stage of flight tests,” said Alexander Okhonko, General Director of VR-Technology.
The project is being implemented within the framework of the Russian Helicopters program – “Speed”. It is worth noting that the main task in developing this drone was to create a flying laboratory to determine the effectiveness of layout schemes and search for innovative solutions.
It is worth noting that a number potential customers are already ready to purchase this unmanned system for tasks related to monitoring and security environment in places where take-off from the runway is impossible. The complex can monitor smoke in forests and dense urban areas, carry out aerial photography, monitor oil and gas facilities, and deliver medicine to hard-to-reach areas.
The project of a promising multi-purpose unmanned aircraft was presented by the holding in August 2015 as part of the MAKS air show.
Tiltrotors are a special class of rotary-wing aircraft that have a number of advantages compared to traditional aircraft designed according to an airplane or helicopter design. Convertiplanes make it possible to perform vertical takeoff and landing on sites of limited size and at the same time transport passengers or cargo at higher speeds and over a greater distance than traditional helicopters.
Russian Helicopters conducted tests at the Skolkovo Innovation Center
Russian Helicopters

18.05.2016


Russian Helicopters will show three of the latest UAVs for the first time at the HeliRussia-2016 exhibition.
Visitors to the exhibition will be shown an unmanned helicopter, a multicopter and a modernized tiltrotor. The developer of these devices was the VR-Technology design bureau of the Russian Helicopters holding company (part of the Rostec State Corporation).
As part of the development work to create a tiltrotor unmanned aerial vehicle, VR-Technology specialists built an experimental flying laboratory apparatus for testing the system automatic control and navigation in various flight modes. In addition, work was carried out on synchronization on-board equipment tiltrotor with payload elements (photo and video cameras, scanners, gas analyzers, smoke detectors, various sensors and thermal imagers).
“Compared to the model shown at the MAKS-2015 air show, further research led to a change in the tiltrotor airframe. At the HeliRussia-2016 exhibition, viewers will be able to see the tiltrotor in a modernized version with the addition of a main wing,” said VR-Technology General Director Alexander Okhonko, noting that changes in the tiltrotor design contributed to increasing the flight range, as well as improving flight safety at transitional points. modes of this promising machine.
The tiltrotor, which weighs 35 kg, is capable of rising to a height of up to two kilometers and carrying up to 6 kg of payload. The drone's flight range in automatic mode is about 450 km, and it is driven by a hybrid power plant, allowing it to accelerate to 140 km/h.
Visitors to the exhibition will also be able to see full-scale samples of two more UAV models: a helicopter and a multicopter, which have already successfully passed a series of flight tests. Both models are completely autonomous and are capable of performing tasks according to a predetermined algorithm without operator participation.
The unmanned 8-rotor multicopter is driven by an electric motor and is capable of spending about an hour in the air, carrying 3 kilograms of payload. The maximum speed of the UAV will not exceed 60 km/h.
The helicopter-type UAV is also equipped with an electric motor and is capable of rising to a height of up to two kilometers, carrying with it up to 5 kg of payload, maximum speed the flight speed is up to 120 km/h. The design of the helicopter allows the use of a hybrid power plant to increase flight time and range.
JSC Russian Helicopters