VAU2 was our 2020 entry. It had tilting rotors and a modular 3D-printed frame, won the Innovation Award and placed eighth in Design.
What was new
- The motors tilt between vertical lift and forward flight.
- The vertical stabilisers double as landing gear, which saves parts and weight.
- The frame is printed in sections, so it’s quicker to put together and to replace a broken part.
What we learned
Like Toothless, it was meant to carry emergency aid without a runway. It taught the team a lot about tilt mechanisms, and about how hard the switch between hover and forward flight really is.