At the end of February 2016, mechatronics lead Kevin Bass of Intuitive Machines and contracted pilot Mike Laible set off on a planned excursion to Antarctica. In cooperation with the UTIG (University of Texas Institute for Geophysics) and ICECAP (Investigating the Cryospheric Evolution of the Central Antarctic Plate) Intuitive Machines successfully flew multiple runs with a 3W-powered unmanned aerial vehicle platform, Tiburon Jr., on the coast of Antarctica.
Category Archives: Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
Solar Impulse Completes Atlantic Crossing
Solar Impulse 2 has arrived in Europe after 71 hours and 8 minutes of flying over the Atlantic Ocean. Bertrand Piccard has safely landed in Seville, Spain after spending 71 hours and 8 minutes flying across the Atlantic Ocean in a solar airplane, welcomed there by André Borschberg. Continue reading
Inverted Wankel Engine as UAS Power Plant ?
Alexander Shkolnick is the president and co-founder of LiquidPiston, a Connecticut firm that has spent 13 years and $18 million rethinking the rotary engine that Felix Wankel created in 1960 and Mazda gave up on in 2012. On Monday, engineers yanked the 39-pound conventional engine out of a kart and installed the four-pound X Mini. Continue reading
US Army Readies Shadow Block 3 Engine Competition
The US Army plans to release a solicitation for a Block III engine for its Textron Systems RQ-7B Shadow tactical unmanned aircraft system (UAS) later this year, according to the army’s product manager for the platform.
World’s First Electric VTOL Personal Flight Vehicle
The European Space Agency (ESA) is backing a German startup working to develop the world’s first vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) personal flight jet aircraft for consumers.
Automated Charging Stations Enable Continuous UAS Deployment & Monitoring
Drones are already making headlines about how they can dramatically cut costs for one-off inspections. Replacing $2000/hr helicopter surveys, accessing hard to reach areas, inspecting hazardous locations or rapidly surveying large areas have all provided huge time and cost savings through the use of drones. However, the cost of deploying 100 drones each with a trained & certified operator is around a $10M/year excluding logistics costs.
Time Between Overhauling Main Topic at Xponential
The management of 3W International GmbH noted that in discussions with interested customers at the Xponential 2016 in New Orleans, one topic stood out: Time between overhauling (TBO). Aside from standard engines, the German engine manufacturer presented its complete drive concept to the North American specialist audience. Continue reading
Binocular Vision System for Autonomous UAV Refuelling
A binocular vision-based platform has simulated autonomous aerial refuelling (AAR) between two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in real time, using a boom approach. The platform may be the first step toward a vision-based sensor and navigation system that could enable in-air refuelling of UAVs without pilot assistance. Continue reading