Air Vehicles and Systems


	Air Vehicles and Systems
	Prototype Vehicles
	The HawkMoth vehicle is an in-house IR and D project that features a retractable BTC-88 matched to a flying wing with a removable tail boom with battery compartments located within the wings. This vehicle is designed with modular wings and propulsion units to offer different flight characteristics in order to be flexible for changing environmental conditions and/or mission specific configurations. The different modules include duration and speed motor/prop combinations and a set of long (duration) and short (speed) wings. We have successfully test flown the short wing high power combination and are continuing to test fly in association with Emman Aerospace and Procerus Technologies.


	We were approached with a request for an ultra light and fast tube launchable reconnaissance UAV platform. With size constraints generally the deciding factor in choosing a specific airframe configuration a tube launch airframe poses many obstacles in which we have addressed here only in form. The vehicle is designed for high-performance flight obtained by high discharge Li-poly/brushless combo with a target power loading of up to 200 Watts per pound. This platform will include the Kestrel by Procerus and BTC-40 R retracting camera unit. Deployment scheme has been finalized and mechanisms are under development.
	A short video of the initial flight test. Prototype - WMV 1:24 min - 2.7 Mb - Windows Media Video

	Production Vehicles
	Tiger Shark UAV
	Designed as a test bed for a long range 100+ lb payload low cost airframe. With a 17.5 ft wing span and empty flying weight of 150 lbs. the Tiger Shark can carry 100 pounds of Mogas and 50 pounds of avionics for a gross take off weight of 300 lbs. Designed and prototyped in less than 90 days, this airframe consists of revolutionary thermoplastic wings and flying surface components. Patented technology allows for hard skinned, rugged monolithic components that stay warp free in all environments and can be produced en masse by fully automated equipment.
	Click for more on the TigerShark

	FoxCar UAV
	The FoxCar UAV was a composite version of the TigerShark airframe. It utilizes the same fuselage and landing gear. The vehicle is powered by a larger two stroke engine with a longer wingspan and thicker airfoils.


	The Scythe UAV
	The Scythe vehicle uses a thermoplastic airframe that was developed from SBIR Funding. A para-foil recovery system allows for a high performance low drag airframe configuration while being able to slow down for precise short field landings. When combined with a launcher this results in a very small footprint for a very capable UAV system.
	Click for more on the Scythe

	Swarm UAV
	Swarm I was the first run of these plastic monocoque vehicles and featured a 44 inch wing span and all flying tail planes. The all thermoplastic airframe with a high performance engine or brushless electric motor has a gross weight of under 10 lbs. When the initial airframes were delivered to ONR (Office of Naval Research) they immediately requested more wing area. This bird should prove to be very fast and stable in high winds. We have begun work on an electric brushless / Li-Po combination that should provide the spirited flight performance required of a vehicle of this configuration.

	Mozilla Firefox some links do not work properly. All Rights Reserved - 2008 - Micro UAV.com