Thrust Vectoring and its Effects on Vertical Take-off and Landing of Monocopters - A Review

Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) vehicles have evolved and progressed through the ages and have come to the level of present-day advanced drone technology. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are widely used in the modern world for numerous applications. These vehicles are basically VTOL systems that are miniature in structure and cost-effective when compared to their predecessors. This paper covers an idea on the conventional VTOL systems and modern drones which is then followed by focusing more on a lesser explored area of drones which is the monocopter, especially thrust vectoring monocopter. Monocopter has inherent advantages like small structure and lightweight. The paper also discusses different types of conventional monocopters along with their benefits and limitations. The thrust vectoring monocopter is given highlight because it has added advantage of compensating the inherent autorotation in the conventional monocopter with the help of control fins thereby building a stable cost-effective system. Hence this paper presents a comparative study on the VTOL systems, conventional monocopters and thrust vectoring monocopter.