Autonomous VTOL Tailsitter UAV
Built by nikourg
Many aerial missions such as environmental monitoring, infrastructure inspection, disaster response, and remote-area reconnaissance require both vertical takeoff capability and long-endurance flight. Traditional multirotor drones can take off and land in confined spaces but suffer from limited flight time and range, while fixed-wing aircraft are more efficient but require runways or launch systems. This limits the deployment of autonomous aerial systems in remote or space-constrained environments. To address this challenge, I am designing and building a fully autonomous VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) tailsitter UAV that combines the hovering capabilities of a multirotor with the efficiency of a fixed-wing aircraft. The aircraft will feature a custom-designed, primarily 3D-printed airframe, enabling rapid prototyping, lightweight construction, and modular design improvements throughout development. The UAV will be capable of autonomous vertical takeoff, transition to forward flight, GPS-guided waypoint navigation, return-to-home operation, transition back to hover, and autonomous vertical landing. The project will involve airframe design and optimization in CAD, additive manufacturing, embedded electronics, flight control systems, autonomous navigation, and extensive flight testing. By combining aerospace engineering, robotics, autonomous systems, and additive manufacturing, this project aims to demonstrate a versatile UAV platform capable of performing long-range missions without dedicated launch or landing infrastructure while showcasing the potential of low-cost, rapidly manufacturable aircraft designs.