Mini QBiT

This project grew from an idea, to a project, to a business. The mini qbit is a hybrid tail-sitter UAV with the ability to hover as a quadcopter and fly in forward flight on the wings for efficient forward flight like an airplane. This offers improvements in range, endurance, and maneuverability. After gaining external interest from hobbyists, I decided to build a website and market the concept as a product. In the end, I sold over 30 kits to hobbyists around the world, before deciding to close the business to pursue other ventures. 

• Website I made to sell the Mini QBiT: https://pryseck.wixsite.com/mysite

• University of Maryland coverage: https://aero.umd.edu/news/story/extending-quadcopter-flight-timemdashby-adding-wings

• Review and podcast by popular YouTuber Joshua Bardwell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3oJ4pnAY4g&t=3478s

• Hackaday article: https://hackaday.com/2021/08/02/vtol-tailsitter-flies-with-quadcopter-control-software/

There were many iterations of the design, from foam wings and glue, to an optimized design for small-scale manufacturing (aka just me building these things after midnight...) I made several videos promoting the concept and trying to inspire others to build their own. Eventually I shifted the concept to a product, which required a great deal more design improvements to ensure it would work universally well for a variety of electronics, that it would be durable and not break on the first crash, and to keep the overall look and appeal of the vehicle. This required a great deal of marketing effort, to make sure that the concept, something novel in the quadcopter world, was still approachable to newcomers.