VTOL Flexrotor Pushes Small UAV Endurance Limits

AvWeek noted, “The 22-kg (48-lb.) Flexrotor is a tailsitter that takes off vertically like a helicopter then transitions to fuel-efficient wingborne flight, its two-blade proprotor providing both lift in vertical flight and thrust in forward flight.” AvWeek noted that the previous endurance record for a VTOL was “22 hr. 30 min., set in August 2016 by a Latitude Engineering HQ-60 hybrid quadrotor. The HQ-60 takes off vertically like a multicopter and transitions to wingborne flight using a pusher propeller.”