Air mobility vehicles such as drones, eVTOLs, and unmanned aerial vehicles are used in various service businesses, which include infrastructure inspection, surveying, and pesticide spraying. Their market is expected to expand further in the future as legislation that enables package delivery by out-of-sight flights is currently being developed. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Research & Innovation Center develops wind resistance evaluation technology through free-flight testing of air mobility vehicles in a wind tunnel in order to contribute to the development of aerial vehicle bodies by aerial vehicle manufacturers and the verification of wind resistance by air mobility service providers. This report presents an overview of the equipment/devices developed for free-flight testing, case examples of fundamental wind resistance evaluation required for the development of aerial vehicles, and a case example of preliminary verification of infrastructure inspection that simulates the operating environment of an aerial vehicle and enables preliminary training of users.
