Klaus Graf, a team member who is currently doing his master’s degree in aviation, worked on a very interesting project in his first bachelor thesis. A dualcopter in general is an exotic type of multicopter. The realization can pursue in different ways. This project focuses on the concept of the tilt-rotor approach and contains the design, preliminary calculation methods and the manufacturing of two prototypes.

The first and smaller prototype was made to get an inside view of the in-flight-behaviour and to test early control unit designs. To fulfil the requirement of easy replacement, RotorBits® and some 3D printed parts were used. A detailed CAD model in CATIA® also provides the moment of inertia for further control unit designs and simulation purposes.

Expertise and weak points of the first prototype were analysed and taken into consideration for the development of the final prototype. The tilt mechanism was designed to be as rigid as possible, fast and precise to handle the 15” propeller and its deviation moments. Frame plates were milled out of CFRP and aluminium components were manufactured on a lathe to withstand the enormous forces.