No; It's Not the 717 -- It's the ScanEagle UAV

ScanEagle, a Boeing long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, successfully made its first autonomous flight Wednesday at the company's Boardman test facility in eastern Oregon. The UAV, built by The Insitu Group, took off via a pneumatic catapult and flew a pre-programmed course at a maximum altitude of 1,500 feet.

During the 45-minute flight, ScanEagle completed a number of test points using the Global Positioning System. The test team also demonstrated the ability to make real-time updates to the flight plan from the ground station. The UAV was retrieved using the patented SkyHook technique, in which the ScanEagle catches a rope hanging from a 30-foot-high pole.

"ScanEagle's milestone autonomous flight is a great example of the breadth of projects of our Unmanned Systems  organization," said Charlie Guthrie, Boeing Unmanned Systems director of rapid prototyping and advanced concepts. "We are melding Insitu's expertise and unique capabilities with the best of Boeing to provide an autonomous, low-cost, long-endurance UAV for a wide range of potential customers.

"Boeing has the proven expertise in all the areas essential to success in the unmanned market, and we foresee both commercial and military applications for this type of small, low-cost, long-endurance platform."

The four-foot long vehicle, which has a 10-foot wingspan and can fly up to 68 knots, was built using systems automation, integration, communications and payload technologies applicable to a variety of Boeing unmanned systems.

In February 2002, Boeing signed a 15-month agreement with Insitu to develop the ScanEagle UAV ("New UAV From Boeing, Insitu").

ScanEagle is based on Insitu's Seascan aircraft, a variant of which made the first UAV transatlantic flight, a 2,000-mile trip from Newfoundland to Scotland that used only 1.5 gallons of gasoline.

FMI: www.boeing.com