DESIGNS AND PERFORMANCES

​The following are guidelines toward realizing the advantages of the Geometric Mandate that a flat and thin airframe has an L:D inversely related to the reciprocal of the air angle of attack in radians (This translates to an L:D of 57:1 at 1 degree, and 114:1 at 0.5 degrees.): 
  • Aircraft thickness increases the drag component of L:D, and so, for the highest performance (e.g. 20X), the entire vehicle should be essentially the thickness of sheets that provide both upper and lower lift areas. 
  • Optimal thin fences should be on the sides of elongated sheets to reduce the extent to which higher underside pressure cancels lower upper-side pressure.  The optimal ratio of platform width to length to fence height can be effectively determined using digital engineering (CFD).
  • Both the towed platform and the front tiltwing should have leading-edge hinge joints to create passive control/stability where weight and lift torques passively balance.  At higher speeds, vibrations could be a problem due to the singularity in lift at a zero-degree angle of attack; that is a problem to be overcome.
  • High wingspans unnecessarily increase drag for applications of towed platforms due to thicker structural components needed to transfer lift from extended wing sections to the fuselage.  It is much more effective to distribute the fuselage weight over a mostly-rectangular flat plate; therein, eliminating wingspans.  A front tiltwing in front of a towed platform is viable without wings.
The images (left) illustrate the ideal "Flat Plate Airfoil" and three basic HS-Drone airframes.  All the HS-Drone airframes use a hinge joint to provide stability to the Towed Platform component of the vehicle, which is the largest component of the airframe.  Performances are corrected for shear drag and edge effects as derived in the Proof tab.

SP-Drone (solar platform drone) is the most efficient, because it is the flattest. Also, large surface areas complement both the ability to gather solar energy and increased L:D (flight efficiency).  A version of SP-Drone would be used for 24/7 energy collection, fuel production, and chemical production.  It is a high altitude (e.g. 50,000 to 90,000 ft) airframe that is above clouds and turbulence.

POD Drone is heavy payload drone which would have passenger capacities similar to larger passenger jets.  It could also carry railcar/truck containers like conveyed with container ships.  It would have high speed capabilities.

The VTOL Drone is a POD drone, but typically smaller and capable of vertical takeoff and landing.

HS-Drone is not a product.  Rather, HS-Drone is a patented approach to airframe construction with hundreds of different products possible.

​Within the above guidelines, extremely high energy efficiencies are attainable.  The term “10X” is short for “ten times the efficiency of the V22 Osprey”.  10X corresponds to a lift-to-drag ration of 55:1 or greater.  Terms of 20X and 5X have analogous definitions.  Below are example Transformer-Drone patented (or patent-pending) aircrafts, performance factors, and priority dates:

Current Status of Technology

​The current status is a progression through developing and posting Crowd Source resources as detailed at that tab.  Current U.S. patent protection is being strengthened and global patent protection is on track to the PCT timeline.  The published patents and applications have complementary inventions described in the specifications (submarine patents) for complementary technologies including:  a) integrated circuit motors, b) hybrid fuel-electric jet engines, and c) light weight truss design.   

QUICK LINKS

EXAMPLE DESIGNS http://www.terretrans.com/hs-drone.html
10X GEOMETRIC MANDATE  http://www.terretrans.com/proof.html
POD APPROACH http://www.terretrans.com/pods.html
TRANSFORMER DRONE & TOWED PLATFORMS http://www.terretrans.com/transformer.html
INFINITE RANGE & 100% SOLAR http://www.terretrans.com/sp-drone.html
HYBRID ENGINES, HYDROGEN/AMMONIA, AND OTHER TECH http://www.terretrans.com/other-tech.html
PATENT POSITIONS http://www.terretrans.com/tech.html
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