Wed, Aug 13, 2025
It’s common to visualize a small vertical lift UAV as having 4 to 6 propellers, it’s very maneuverable, but it has a short range and limited load caring capabilities. Well, NASA says you can have your cake and eat it too with something they call “Greased Lightning.”
ANN CEO and Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell, spent time at the Unmanned Systems 2015 Conference and met with aerospace engineer Bill Fredericks to talk about what’s different with their vehicle. Fredericks says they’re developing a vehicle that will have four times the efficiency of a standard rotorcraft. What you will see in the video is a vertical lift winged the vehicle that has 10 electrically driven propellers.
Fredericks explains that this concept vehicle that could lead to larger UAVs or even a personal air vehicle that you either climb on, or get in, and use for personal transportation. The Grease Lightning concept vehicle has a wingspan of 10 feet but Fredericks says it could be scaled up to a wingspan of more than 20 feet to accommodate a manned operation.
As the interview continues, Fredericks goes on to talk about expanding this project into other areas and applications. This is a classic case where words simply don’t do the job; you need to watch the video and listen to the interview to see some of the great stuff that’s being developed by NASA.
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