The Russian company "Garuda Aero" has developed a new modular helicopter that combines the principles of a classic rotorcraft and a quadcopter. The invention pertains to unmanned and piloted helicopter-type aircraft.
The design is based on a body made of two rectangular frames positioned one above the other and connected by vertical struts. Openings for the coaxial main rotor shafts are provided at the center of each frame.
The craft uses two coaxial rotors with separate drives. Each drive includes a brushless DC electric motor, a gearbox, and two power supply units arranged symmetrically. For balancing, the lower drive is rotated 180 degrees vertically and horizontally relative to the upper one.
Flight control is provided by a common swashplate located between the upper and lower blades. The system is responsible for collective pitch, pitch, and roll. In addition, redundancy of control elements has been implemented to improve reliability.
The configuration simplifies the assembly and maintenance of the craft. Each module is an autonomous flying unit that can be combined with others vertically and horizontally to increase payload capacity.
Tests showed that one module is capable of carrying up to 20 kg of payload with a flight endurance of up to one hour. Maximum payload capacity can reach 40 kg if operating time is reduced to 7–10 minutes.