Under contract with NASA, Joby has developed a truly novel VTOL configuration: the Lotus.

Press

Two bladed rotors mounted on the wingtip provide thrust in takeoff and landing, but scissor closed in flight to become part of the wing. Custom Joby electric motors directly drive both wingtip blades, as well the tilting tail rotor, and contribute to a low noise signature. Joby motor controllers drive the wingtip motors and provide precise and reliable control of both RPM and position.

A future 275 lb-class hybrid-electric UAV development of this configuration has the potential to become the first VTOL aircraft to achieve 24 hour endurance.

The Lotus has its roots in the NASA “Dos Samara” UAV concept. Although clever, this configuration experiences various structural and aerodynamic compromises by using single-bladed wingtip rotors. The Lotus addresses all of these with a 2-bladed configuration incorporating a deceptively simple mechanism to transform these surfaces from rotor blades to wingtips in seconds.

Specifications

Demonstrator	Potential Production UAV
Gross weight	55 lb	275 lb class
Payload	7 lb	60 lb
Wingspan	11 ft	22 ft
Endurance	1+ hr	24 hr
Cruise speed	62 knots	100 knots
Cruise altitude	10,000 ft	21,000 ft
Total power	4 hp	20 hp
Total battery mass	10 lb	25 lb
Fuel capacity	N/A	9 gallons (diesel)