Tyto Robotics’ state-of-the-art drone thrust stands were utilized by the University of Toronto Aerospace Team (UTAT) during the SAE Aero Design competition, which involves creating and constructing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for a wildfire response mission.
A key aspect of the mission requires a secondary aircraft to detach mid-flight from the primary aircraft and autonomously deliver its payload to a specified target.
UTAT employed the Series 1580 thrust stand for dynamic thrust testing in the 0.3 m x 0.3 m wind tunnel at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS).
These tests enabled the team to gather data on how thrust and propulsion system efficiency changed with varying airspeeds and motor RPMs, reflecting different operational conditions throughout the mission.
Although motor and propeller manufacturers provide performance estimates, the Series 1580 thrust stand played a critical role in gathering in-house validation data. This ensured confidence in the design of both aircraft.
Additionally, UTAT participated in the Aerial Evolution Association of Canada (AEAC) competition.
This year’s AEAC project, Cyclone, was a 14 kg hexacopter designed as an urban air mobility system. To optimize endurance for the competition, the team used the Tyto Robotics Series 1580 to evaluate motor and propeller combinations by assessing their efficiencies and current draw.
The thrust stand was invaluable not only for selecting propulsion system components but also during post-flight evaluations. After numerous crashes during testing, the thrust stand was used to determine which motors remained functional and identify motors with excessive vibration levels. This allowed the team to recover swiftly from each crash and resume safe flight testing.
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