ThrustPod: a novel solution for vertical take-off and landing systems

The work introduces a patented solution, named ThrustPod, to adapt the state-of-the-art fixed-wing aircraft for vertical take-off and landing operations. The proposed system is conceived to overcome the need of tilting surfaces or rotors and to overcome the aerodynamic low performance of multicopters. The ThrustPod is applicable to very light and general aviation aircraft and next generation air vehicles that aim to operate on urban and regional routes. The proposed solution is based on retractable thrusters to provide the required vertical thrust for the take-off and landing phases. The more suitable thrusters can be adopted, e.g. ducted fans or propellers. Another characteristic is the modularity as the ThrustPod can be scaled on different vehicle categories. In fact, the proposed solution can be used on different fixed-wing aircraft to provide vertical and take-off capabilities or to design novel airframes. The work proposes an integrated preliminary design process to optimise both the aircraft and the ThrustPod configuration to define fuselage length, thruster’s arrangement, power budget, energy management and performance evaluation of a potential aircraft for urban air mobility applications. The aim of the present work is to present a preliminary design application to evaluate advantages and drawback with respect to the most promising urban air mobility vehicles.