A few guys from Jobi Robotics came up with a really interesting RC plane*called the Quadshot. With 4 motors, the plane is very similar to the quadcopter builds we’ve seen, but an added wing allows it to fly horizontally much faster than a pile of carbon fiber and electronics.
The VTOL ability of the plane reminds us of something we saw at the National Air & Space Museum a long time ago. The flight test footage of the Convair Pogo shows landings are troublesome*to say the least, so we can appreciate how much work went into this build.
The Quadshot uses the Open-Source Paparazzi autopilot with onboard gyros to take a lot of work out of flying. Their autopilot board can also be switched from remote control to a UAV at the touch of a button. This might come in very handy when transitioning between vertical and horizontal flight modes.
The team has already built about a dozen prototypes, and they’re looking to cover tooling costs to manufacture the Quadshot with a Kickstarter campaign. The video posted on their Kickstarter*page looks very cool. We’re looking forward to seeing the ‘quadcopter with a wing’ builds that the Quadshot will influence.
Filed under: hardware, robots hacks, toy hacks
