In 1927 George de Bothezat told Popular Science that helicopters were “exactly where the airplane stood after the first few flights of the Wright Brothers.” What he means is that helicopters had, indeed, flown. Bothezat himself had built one that lifted off the ground while carrying the weight of four people. They just hadn’t flown well. Continue reading
Category Archives: Applications & Testing & Experience
Ambulance Drone with Integrated Defibrillator
Graduate student Alec Momont of TU Delft has designed an unmanned, autonomously navigating mini aeroplane that can quickly deliver a defibrillator to where it is needed. A network of such drones could significantly increase the chance of survival following a cardiac arrest: from 8 % to 80 % ! Continue reading
FedEx Researching UAS Delivery
FedEx is researching the delivery firm’s capabilities of using drones within its service but, even if it adopts the increasingly popular form of technology, it is unlikely to become a widespread element in the international courier industry. Continue reading
Air Traffic Control for UAS
A startup called Airware is working with NASA on a project exploring how to manage the swarms of commercial drones expected to start appearing in U.S. skies. The four-year programme will create a series of prototype air traffic management systems and could shape how widely commercial drones can be used. Airware’s main business is selling control software and hardware to drone manufacturers and operators.
Second Triton UAS Completes First Flight
The U.S. Navy’s second MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS) has successfully completed its first flight. Operating out of a manufacturing facility in Palmdale, a Navy and Northrop Grumman flight test team conducted the 6.7-hour flight Oct. 15. The flight is a critical first step in preparing the aircraft to fly to a Navy facility in Maryland later this month.
US Army Testing IAI Hand-Launched UAS
The US Army is field testing more than a dozen hand-launched ArrowLite unmanned air vehicles manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries, which has long sought a foothold in the US military unmanned air systems (UAS) market.
3D-Printed UAV with Ducted Fan Motors
A Boeing-assisted team at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Center has developed a blended-wing UAV featuring integrated electric ducted fan motors built with modular components made largely via Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). This is the type of 3D printing in which successive layers of molten plastic are extruded one on top of another, to build up complete objects. Continue reading
ARES Gets US Navy Flight Clearance
SHIELD Aviation, Inc. has announced the granting of a Category 3 Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Interim Flight Clearance (IFC) for the ARES Block C UAS by Naval Air System Command (NAVAIR) Patuxent River MD AIR – 4.0P. The ARES UAS IFC supports Navy public aircraft operations of ARES Block C UAS within restricted and warning areas of the U.S. National airspace.