SIM001 › Flying the VTOL

Flying a VTOL

A VTOL takes off and lands straight up, like a copter, and flies forward on its wing, like a plane. The T1-S VTOL has two tilt-rotor motors on the wing and a third rotor in the tail. In a hover the two wing motors point up, and the three rotors hold the plane in the air. In forward flight the wing motors point forward and the wing lifts the plane. The change from one to the other is the transition. ArduPilot does it, and the console gives it the modes: the Q modes (QLOITER, QLAND) hover, and the normal modes (CRUISE) fly forward.

Tutorials

Flying a VTOLThis tutorial shows a full VTOL flight. You take off straight up, and the plane hovers over the field. You switch to forward flight, and the plane tilts its wing motors forward and flies on its wing. Then you switch back to a hover, and you land straight down. The plane keeps its height through both transitions.

Topics

Vertical take-off and landing

A VTOL needs no runway and no throw. You arm it, and VTOL TKOF lifts it straight up to the plan altitude. It stays there until you tell it to do something else. QLAND brings it straight down, and ArduPilot disarms it when it is on the ground.

Transition

The transition changes a hover into forward flight, and back. In the first one, the wing motors tilt forward while the plane speeds up, and the wing takes the weight. In the second one, the wing motors tilt up while the plane slows down, and the rotors take the weight. The plane keeps its height through both.

Battery and power

The T1-S VTOL flies on a 4S pack. A hover uses much more power than forward flight, because the three rotors carry the whole weight. In forward flight the wing carries the weight, and only the two wing motors turn at a low speed. The BATTERY line on the SYSTEMS screen shows the voltage and the current of the pack.