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.
Within these 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.  The following are example Transformer-Drone patented (or patent-pending) aircrafts, performance factors, and priority dates:

Current Status of Technology

​This “Transformer Drone” project is a result of multiple fundamental innovations, including:  1) improved VTOL transformations based connecting a front (or trailing) tiltwing to a fuselage, 2) configuring the fuselage as a towed platform with ultra-high efficiency, and 3) complementary technologies including 24/7 HAPS/HALE/solar aircraft and hybrid engine technology.  Since mid-2019, serial innovation has occurred to capitalize on these fundamental advances.
The current status (Jun-2021) is a focus on toy-scale prototypes that will refine the passive mechanisms and demonstrate based case performance.  This is combined with following up on the patent protection.   

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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