Vespa
Vespa is our submission for the 2025-2026 iMeche UAS challenge. It is a 2.1m span tandem platform, manufactured primarily via 3D printing
Competition Overview
Innovation award winners
Successful manual flight and payload release
Placed 14th internationally out of 54 teams
Placed 4th in the UK
Competition Gallery
Design
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A tandem configuration is used which allows the payload to be housed centrally in the fuselage. This improves accessibility and avoids compromising critical structural load paths. The footprint is also smaller than a traditional fixed wing of the same payload capacity
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3D printed LW-PLA and waterjet cut carbon plate enable rapid, low-cost manufacture of complex, highly accurate surfaces
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Vespa uses a 120mm EDF, which features single axis thrust vectoring for yaw control. A 12S architecture is used for improved efficiency over 6S