I’m 16 and have this idea for a drone design but no clue how to make it work. While traveling, I watched birds like eagles and noticed they barely flap their wings. They use their body shape to glide in the air. It got me thinking—what if we built a drone in the shape of a peregrine falcon? I picked this bird because it’s the fastest with the best aerodynamics.
The idea is to use lightweight materials like plastic to make the body. For the wings, we could mount two powerful thrusters, like a 12-kilowatt hall thruster (I found this through Google, so I don’t know much about it). These thrusters would lift the drone up to around 3,500 feet—the altitude where peregrine falcons usually fly. Once at the desired height, the thrusters could redirect to help the drone glide, similar to how birds do. The thrusters would also boost its speed during gliding.
The drone could have compact, powerful cameras where the falcon’s eyes would be, like the ones on a high-end smartphone. In the place of the beak, we could install micro-sensors to collect useful data. This drone could fly high and gather detailed information, maybe even help with weather prediction for small areas. It could also assist with things like cloud seeding or capturing amazing bird’s-eye-view shots thanks to its advanced cameras.
I know this idea has flaws, and I don’t know much about the technical details. But I’d love to hear feedback, corrections, or insights from anyone willing to share. If you like this idea, thank you for reading and for any advice you can offer!