page_title: VTOL
section_title: Modern drones
hierarchical_section_title: VTOL / History / Modern drones
caption_attribution_description: Schiebel Camcopter S-100, taken during ILA 2006.
context_page_description: A vertical take-off and landing aircraft is one that can hover, take off, and land vertically. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as cyclogyros/cyclocopters and tiltrotors. Some VTOL aircraft can operate in other modes as well, such as CTOL, STOL, or STOVL. Others, such as some helicopters, can only operate by VTOL, due to the aircraft lacking landing gear that can handle horizontal motion. VTOL is a subset of V/STOL. Some lighter-than-air aircraft also qualify as VTOL aircraft, as they can hover, takeoff, and land with vertical approach/departure profiles.
  Electric and hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOLs, are being developed in the quest for fully autonomous passenger air vehicles.
  Besides the ubiquitous helicopter, there are currently two types of VTOL aircraft in military service: craft using a tiltrotor, such as the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, and another using directed jet thrust, such as the Harrier family and new F-35B Lightning II Joint strike Fighter. In the civilian sector currently only helicopters are in general use.
context_section_description: In the 21st century, unmanned drones are becoming increasingly commonplace. Many of these have VTOL capability, especially the quadcopter type.
caption: A Schiebel Camcopter S-100, a modern VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle
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