78 While much experimentation and novel approaches were applied to crewed aerospace throughout the 20th century, including sleeve-valve engines, tilt-wing aircraft configurations and supersonic jets, most of professional aviation across industry remained heavily uniform, owing to both regulation and manufacturing efficiency reliant upon standardised, mass-produced, structural and powertrain components. Surveys, search-and-rescue operations and anything else requiring judicious eyes in the sky were carried out by helicopter crews; passengers across and between continents were flown in lengthy, tubular, fixed-wing CTOL aeroplanes; and military duties were similarly divided-up between helicopters, CTOL planes and, on rare occasion, VTOL-transitioning or STOL planes. UAVs, however, have upended the status quo by using unusual and unconventional aircraft configurations quite unlike those of conventional, standardised aviation. The absence of a pilot, and the freedom to look beyond the regulated and the standardised, has unlocked great creativity for engineers in the pursuit of limitless performance and efficiency. It has also enabled duties typically carried out by conventional aircraft forms to be taken on by unconventional systems, to the benefit of customers and society alike. Logistics Over the years, we have seen some incorporation of autogyro technology into UAV architectures for the simplicity and energy efficiency that autogyros (sometimes called ‘gyrocopters’) can bring to aircraft operations and maintenance. Rory Jackson investigates a plethora of UAVs breaking the mould in terms of configurations and distinguishing technologies Aerial pioneers Unmanned Aerospace’s GH4 combines helicopter and gyrocopter elements to improve operational and maintenance efficiency (Image courtesy of Unmanned Aerospace) August/September 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology
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