Vertical Flight Society Design-Build-Vertical Flight Competition 2025 - Thunder Vertical Flight Team
Faculty Mentor Name
Johann Dorfling, Richard Mangum
Format Preference
Poster
Abstract
Our team consists of ten members that are interested in the technological and innovative challenges that Vertical Flight Society (VFS) has proposed for competition guidelines this April in Churchville, Maryland. Thunder Vertical Flight Team designed an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for the 5th annual Design-Build-Vertical Flight (DBVF) competition, hosted by the VFS. This year's competition focused on the growing industry and utility of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) in wildfire suppression. Some competition requirements included achieving a maximum range within a restricted time, demonstrating agility, and carrying multiple 0.5 lb water bottle payloads while staying within a 25 lb maximum takeoff weight and max wingspan of 10 ft. Thunder designed BORAT (Battery Operated Rotaric Aerial Transport), which features a custom variable tilt-rotor design allowing for a more efficient payload fraction during vertical takeoff and landing. The aircraft then transitions into a conventional horizontal cruise configuration to take advantage of improved aerodynamic efficiency. Our team has developed a semi-modular construction for easy transportation and rapid assembly. The aircraft achieves a hover endurance of 15 minutes, with significantly extended endurance in horizontal flight. It can have single input commands to deploy a payload utilizing a reloadable auger system.
Vertical Flight Society Design-Build-Vertical Flight Competition 2025 - Thunder Vertical Flight Team
Our team consists of ten members that are interested in the technological and innovative challenges that Vertical Flight Society (VFS) has proposed for competition guidelines this April in Churchville, Maryland. Thunder Vertical Flight Team designed an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for the 5th annual Design-Build-Vertical Flight (DBVF) competition, hosted by the VFS. This year's competition focused on the growing industry and utility of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) in wildfire suppression. Some competition requirements included achieving a maximum range within a restricted time, demonstrating agility, and carrying multiple 0.5 lb water bottle payloads while staying within a 25 lb maximum takeoff weight and max wingspan of 10 ft. Thunder designed BORAT (Battery Operated Rotaric Aerial Transport), which features a custom variable tilt-rotor design allowing for a more efficient payload fraction during vertical takeoff and landing. The aircraft then transitions into a conventional horizontal cruise configuration to take advantage of improved aerodynamic efficiency. Our team has developed a semi-modular construction for easy transportation and rapid assembly. The aircraft achieves a hover endurance of 15 minutes, with significantly extended endurance in horizontal flight. It can have single input commands to deploy a payload utilizing a reloadable auger system.