South African startup, Passerine, is developing a drone that the company believes will be adept at long-haul flights without giving up on the ability to take off and land from a small area like standard VTOLs (vertical take-off and landing vehicles).
While the former requires fixed wings, the latter generally needs rotors to propel itself vertically. However, with its ‘Sparrow’ prototype, Passerine believes it has the best of both worlds. The aircraft has a fixed-wing design for long-haul flights, but comes with specially created legs for VTOL capabilities.
Inspired by birds that use their legs to catapult themselves into air, the legs in ‘Sparrow’ are spring-loaded, and provide the thrust needed for takeoff. Once in the air, the legs retract into the body to reduce drag, just like airplane tyres. During touchdown, the legs are used as shock-absorbers for a smooth landing.
Image Courtesy: Passerine (via Spectrum)