Status of VTOL propellers when the vehicle is in plane mode

Hi,

I am new to the VTOL arena. I was wondering what happens to the VTOL propellers when the vehicle is in the plane mode.
What I mean is when the vehicle is in plane mode do the VTOL propellers rotate due to the air flow? If yes, does it affect the thrust produced in the plane mode.
If no, does it happen naturally or the propellers are forced not to rotate. If they are forced not to rotate, how does one achieve that?

Sorry for the nested questions.

Hi @neo ,

I will assume you are talking about a standard VTOL (quadplane) type drone.

During fixedwing mode, the pwm values of the lifting system are set to their disarmed values. This means that if your ESC has active braking, the props will most likely not be able to spin. If there is no active breaking, the props can start to rotate as soon as some airflow is forced in the propellerโ€™s logitudinal axis (vertical); this can occur at some sufficient angle of attack or if the rotors are tilted backwards.

If the props start to rotate due to the airflow, they will produce more drag since a windmilling prop produces more drag than a static prop. This might slightly increase the consumption of the pusher motor.

I hope that answered your questions!