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This is my attempt to come up with a modular drone concept. The goal is to create a portable and versatile drone fleet that can fit in your backpack. The solution that I came up with is interchangeable parts. The 3 same fans will fit to and power 3 different bases and one of the bases will be able to be converted to a flying wing. I believe that the idea of interchangeable parts will save space and weight.



Someone who is working with drones in the field may need different units with different sizes, flight characteristics and technical properties, and I believe this may provide a solution.



The name of the concept is MonoModule.



Parts:



1- MonoThrust (prototype ready: 3 carbon fiber armored EDFs to power the 3 different bases)

2- MonoBase (prototype ready: base that operates with one fan – MonoPhan_indestructible)

3- DuoBase (to be built: base that operates with two fans - DuoPhan)

4- TriBase (prototype ready: base that operates with three fans - TriPhan)

5- MonoWing (to be built: DuoBase will be able to be converted in to a flying wing)



I see this as the first step of many that will shape this concept. I guess it will evolve as I go along and build new stuff. I made this amateur introductory video with the prototypes that I already built to present my idea. Anyone can share thoughts and ideas.



Thanks for watching.

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DuoBase in the making. This unit will be a VTOL flying detla wing, if I can pull it off

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DuoBase did its maiden today First impression is very good. Felt very stable. I swapped yaw and roll on this unit, as hopefully it will also be a flying wing so I had to be mindful of what I am doing during the first hover test.



It uses the same fans with the MonoBase and the TriBase and the same battery with the TriBase. The video shows installing the fans, a quick indoors stability check and the maiden at the park. Also started working on the removable wing. Put a pic at the end of the vid.



I am using the awesome radio that my awesome friend Kim from Canada has sent me free of charge to support my projects. He didn’t even charge shipping, even though he had to send the radio twice due to my post office messing up and sending the radio back to him for some unexplained reason… This long range radio will help a lot while testing the flying wing. Thanks bud!



I think this unit will be one with the longest fight time, approaching 10 minutes hover time.

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This unit looks badass in the air. Almost scary. I think it is because of its potential. It is VERY responsive. Vectoring the fans instead of using nozzles improved the responsiveness compared to my older twin units. I cut the flight short because I realized the fans fluttered a little. I am looking forward to the day that the tuning is complete and I will fly this beast at its limits…



Meanwhile working on the wing with the carbon reinforcement.

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The first test of the MonoWing. MonoWing is based on DuoBase. I completed the wing and wanted to get a feel of the center of lateral resistance and center of gravity, which is critical for transitioning to horizontal flight. The intent is not to transition, as I will use an Arduino to do that automatically. I don’t think I can achieve that manually with piloting.



The flight went well except a small crash. Having experience in transitioning from vertical to horizontal and back from some of my older projects, I can say that center lateral resistance is too high. It needs some adjustment. When I tilted the unit forward it immediately started climbing and resisted the stick input to tilt forward.



Need to figure how to do the fine adjustments and test again.

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A better setup. I extended the fuselage to move the battery forward to fix the CG problem. Windy day. Hesitated at first but decided to go ahead with the test. The unit handled way better. I had the comfort level to do a full stick around mid flight and the unit probably exceeded 70-75 degrees tilt angle for a moment and then transitioned back with the stick released. I think this is good enough to start testing the real transition. I will try this with an Arduino board and an external accelerometer board, which will control the units flight angle.



Considering that this is a couple times heavier than a flying wing this size, I will try to keep a higher attack angle during horizontal flight. I want to use the advantage of the extra lift to save some battery.



This DuoBase design has amazing handing, even in a windy condition like today with this huge lateral surface area from the wing…



Thanks.

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The first and a short test of the transition, just to feel the unit and see how it responds to the new controls. I only went into the first phase of the transition at 55 second mark, where it can clearly be seen that the unit tilted forward. At this point the external flight support system kicked in. One stick control (yaw) worked fine to turn the unit. However, at 1:05 minute mark the unit tilted more than the input. So, I cancelled the transition at 1:10 minute mark.



I will need to increase the compensation of the external accelerometer to make sure it can hold the unit at the desired angle and test again. Overall successful test, since I didn’t crash

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Maidening the new TriBase unit that I juts completed. Successful maiden. Love it!

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The new video that shows the full set of units, installation, and short flights.