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Known as the Silent Short Take-Off and Landing (S2TOL) project, the concepts were revealed this week at the Aero aviation trade fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany.
Presented alongside other DLR concepts focused on ‘climate-friendly flight’, such as an electric 50-seater aeroplane with hydrogen fuel cells for regional journeys, the S2TOL project will explore two gyrocopter configurations aimed at ‘extremely quiet’ take-off – one with conventional propellers and one with ducted fans.
“Gyrocopters are manoeuvrable and can take off and land over very short distances with steep approaches and departures – much-needed characteristics for use in urban areas,” the DLR announcement said.
The freely rotating rotor blades eliminate the need for the complex main rotor gearboxes found in helicopters, with correspondingly lower manufacturing and operating costs. Applications as flying taxis or cargo drones “appear attractive”, the announcement said.
The project, in cooperation with the Institute of Jet Propulsion and Turbomachinery at RWTH Aachen University in Germany, plans to test the variant with open propellers and take-off weight of approximately 400kg in 2024. The demonstrator with ducted fans and an aerodynamically optimised airframe will be based on the findings.
The ducted fans are being researched at the Institute of Jet Propulsion and Turbomachinery at RWTH, in cooperation with Jetpel GmbH. The project aims to evaluate the flight performance, safety and noise emissions in flight tests, and to derive new airworthiness requirements for certification.
“DLR is pleased to once again have a stand at Aero,” said Markus Fischer, DLR divisional board member for aeronautics. “General aviation has a special role to play on the path to climate-friendly flight. On shorter routes with few passengers, it is comparatively easy to introduce and test sustainable propulsion systems and concepts, so that they can then be applied more widely for the air transport of the future. That is why we at DLR are increasingly involved in the research, development and testing of climate-friendly small and regional aircraft.”
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