Since the 1970s, helicopters have been vital in disaster response but face limitations in cost, infrastructure, and maneuverability. This thesis presents the design and optimization of an emergency response flyer tailored for the GoAERO competition. Multirotor configurations with hybrid-electric propulsion are investigated to overcome the limitations of existing fully electric VTOL technologies.

A Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) framework is applied to hybrid-electric quadrotor, hexarotor, and octorotor configurations, optimizing the balance between rotor count, mass, and performance. The objective is to minimize Maximum Takeoff Mass (MTOM) while enhancing dynamic performance and maximizing the payload-to-system mass ratio. This study addresses a key research gap by integrating early-stage handling qualities (HQ) evaluation and exploring trade-offs between optimized rotor count configurations. Aerodynamic forces and energy consumption are estimated using momentum theory, while system dynamics are analyzed through Newton-Euler equations and eigenvalue assessments.

Results show that the hexarotor configuration achieves the fastest convergence, balancing design complexity and design space exploring. Configurations maintain a disk loading between 43–63[kg/m2] with hover efficiency between 5 and 5.8. A higher rotor count improves hover efficiency and disk loading, making performance comparable to eHang and Vahana while achieving nearly twice the cruise speed, rivaling helicopters.

At a hybridization factor (HF) of 0.1, MTOM is reduced by 75%, with only a 3% mass variation between configurations. However, at higher HF, mass increases by 20% due to relatively low energy density of batteries further impacting structural support demands, underscoring the need for a more detailed support structure model. Stability analysis confirms neutral hover stability, while a real, negative eigenvalue at cruise identifies the surge subsidence mode, governed by system mass.

Rotor count significantly impacts design flexibility. Hexacopters and octocopters offer better disk loading homogeneity, whereas quadrotors face constrained rotor sizing and elevated blade and disk loading, limiting efficiency.
Quadrotors excel in payload-to-mass ratio and simplicity, making them ideal for productivity missions but less suited for maneuvering-intensive tasks with lower disk loading and control authority, highlighting the importance of early HQ considerations.

This thesis makes a valuable contribution to the advancement of eVTOL research by addressing early-stage HQ assessments where on the basis of other literature and configuration optimization, the hexacopter emerges as the most viable for the GoAERO competition, striking the best balance between mass, handling qualities, and mission performance.