The urban air mobility has become a central topic in the world of the aerospace research. The market is growing exponentially and huge investments are expected in very next years. In this context, it is fundamental to properly design the air vehicles, like small drones to make them fit in a urban context, possibly with an increased efficiency and lowered noise. 

The research project is carried out in collaboration with the ONERA research center in Meudon, France. Throughout the first half of the project, a focus was made on various experimental activities carried out at Politecnico di Torino Aeronautical Laboratory. These mostly concerned investigations on the performance and fluid dynamics of an isolated drone propeller in different operative conditions. With the use of load sensors and a planar PIV setup, it was possible to observe how a drone propeller behaves in static operative conditions (axial inflow, cross-flow and forward flight) and dynamic maneuvers (rapid rpm variations and tilting).