One Landing Gear On Electric HALE UAV Damaged During Touchdown

On February 13, 2014, Air Strato, an electrical powered unmanned aerial vehicle, performed its first take-off from rough terrain. The aircraft performed a short flight at an altitude of about 75 feet, and then landed.

The aircraft was powered by four electrical engines. Two supplementary engines were added in order to shorten the take-off distance. Other additions were suspensions installed on main and forward landing gear. The right landing gear suspension was damaged at touch down.

"The aircraft had only 10 percent of the batteries intended for the commercial version so we had to add ballast to simulate take-off weight," said Teodor Diaconu, ARCA flight dynamics engineer. "We also added two more electrical motors to increase thrust, needed on the rough ground to decrease take-off distance that, combined with the landing gear suspension, provided for a smooth taxi and take-off on rough terrain. It took less than 30 m to lift into the air at maximum thrust. Also we were impressed by the aircraft's rate of climb.”

Air Strato is a high altitude electrical powered unmanned aerial vehicle. It can reach altitudes of above 18 km (59,000 feet) and can fly autonomously for 7 hours on internal batteries and 3 days using solar panels. It can carry a variable payload up to about 65 pounds consisting of surveillance equipment or other scientific instruments.

ARCA is a non-profit organization based in Romania. Its stated main objective is the exploration of space. In order to reach this objective, ARCA says it is working to develop cost effective space vehicles.

(Images provided by ARCA)

FMI: www.arcaspace.com