Preliminary design of a box-wing VTOL UAV

This paper aims to present a preliminary study on a disruptive vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) configuration based on the best wing system concept by L. Prandtl. A preliminary design has been addressed from several points of views: a conceptual design has been carried out thanks to in-house optimization tool; aerodynamic performances, propulsion design and mechanical design have been addressed to make the first prototype for preliminary vertical flight tests. The study shows the feasibility of box-wing configuration for VTOL aircraft. Practical implications The work shows a general design procedure for box-wing unmanned air vehicle (UAV) configuration. The study of this configuration can be easily adopted in wider range, from UAV to general aviation. In the last category, it can be a promising configuration for the future of urban air mobility. This work lays the foundation for studying and testing box-wing configuration for unmanned VTOL aircraft. The design procedure can be scaled to manned aircraft belonging to general aviation aircraft.