High Performance Convertible Coleopter Drones

Abstract

This paper opens with an historical overview of efforts to develop micro-, mini-, and organic aerial vehicles (MAVs and OAVs) in the 1990’s. Although conceived during WWII, coleopters would not see serial production for 60 years. The paper continues with programmatic aspects of hovering coleopter development of the 1990’s and describes the technical motivations behind in-flight conversion from hover-mode to missile-mode flight and the record-setting XQ-138 family of convertible coleopters. As the first commercially successful family of such aircraft, the XQ-138 was taken from initial concept through configuration design, detailed design, patenting, prototyping, proof-of-concept, production, flight testing, qualification, and eventually high rate production, all with private funding. The paper lists basic engineering drivers, covers fundamental sizing methods, presents weight fraction data, and describes flight test procedures, locations, conditions, and results. High-speed flight test data show the stock aircraft achieving speeds in excess of 164 mph (263 kph) with endurances in excess of an hour at that speed with a special dash-optimized version reaching 288 mph (463 kph) for a few minutes. Videos from flight testing and live-fire exercises are shown at Redstone Arsenal, Eglin Air Force Base, and Fort Benning test ranges under extreme conditions. The paper concludes with an assessment of civil and military variants for a variety of military missions and commercial uses.