This Drone Rocket Hybrid Can Land Vertically

The impressive vertical landings of the SpaceX rockets have been an incredible inspiration. Not only to the general public in getting excited about space travel, but also with hobbyists. Gianluigi, aka RC Lover San, wrote in to show us his project that mimics vertical landings.

This is a quadcopter landing system for model rockets. First, you launch your rocket into the air. Then, instead of deploying a parachute or simply letting your rocket tumble to the ground, you extend the quadcopter’s motors and land directly on the launchpad again.

I’m watching this and wondering if the additional weight has any true benefit over a parachute (aside from not having to chase your rocket), but the simple fact is that it doesn’t have to have a huge benefit. It’s just plain cool! Sure, you could just launch a quadcopter without the whole rocket part…but what is new and exciting about that?

You can find Gianluigi’s full build notes on his Instructables if you’d like to follow along.