Here on the right at 1:5 scale a glimpse of the methodology to be used in order to comply with the GoFly challenge single-point-of-failure strictures.
The pair of modules at left are 'handed' and can include an aperture (or apertures) for where they need to travel up the verticals of an airframe, or the outline of a pilot operator.
They could be arranged back-to-back to form a quad-type octocopter, or else as here to form a true octocopter.
As conceived the upper set of motors were to be top-mounted on their cantilevers and the lower bottom-mounted ~ the value of modelling at scale however is it provides alternatives and this is one I like the look of.
It features top-mounted propellers throughout, which does great things for cooling beside reducing the vertical extent of the framework.
Also the frame does not then rest on the props whilst on the ground, while finally it means there is altogether more clearance between the rotor-disks and the lower torso, which may be a benefit should weight-shift prove a practical mode of operation.
In terms of dimensions these are are 32" props set on 20" square frames of 2" depth apiece, roughly modelling the T-Motor U13 power-units which are winging their way here.
Liking what I see, I'll probably forego bench-testing alternative layouts for the 'straight eight' appearing here.
For the aerodynamicists among you, the propellers that overlap actually rotate in the same sense... which means the blades that overlap are travelling in the opposite direction.
Though I drafted the original outline with an 18" deck to fit the competition guidelines, there remains room here to adjust the length of the cantilevers to suit the larger outline.
I'll try for a wearable drone in the first instance that can be steered by weight-shift, and see how we get on. To my knowledge there are no 'walkable' manned eVTOLs out there that can be steered by bodily displacement, and I like a challenge.
Beside which 'step-by-step' is my preferred means of execution.
