Tue, Jul 06, 2021
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.
Aero-TV is a production of the Internationally syndicated Aero-News Network. Seen worldwide by hundreds of thousands of aviators and aviation adherents, Aero-TV has produced over 2000 aviation and feature programs, including several hundred episodes of our daily aviation news program, AIRBORNE, hosted by Bri Cross. Parent company, Aero-News Network, has the most aggressive and intensive editorial profile of any aviation news organization and has published nearly 200,000 news and feature stories since its inception -- having pioneered the online 24/7 aviation new-media model that so many have emulated.
More News
Cooperative Surveillance Any surveillance system, such as secondary surveillance radar (SSR), wide-area multilateration (WAM), or ADS-B, that is dependent upon the presence of cert>[...]
Aero Linx: OX5 Aviation Pioneers Incorporated in 1955 as a Pa 501 (c)(3) Not for Profit Corporation, the OX5 Aviation Pioneers is dedicated to bringing before the public the accomp>[...]
The Pilot Appeared To Regain Control After Six Rotations And Attempted To “Fly Out” Inverted But Had Insufficient Altitude On November 8, 2025, at 1038 eastern standard>[...]
From 2018 (YouTube Edition): Aero-News Talks With The Airplane's Builder One of the many unique airplanes at AirVenture 2018 was a 1/3-scale B-17 bomber built by Jack Bally, who ta>[...]
Aero Linx: Society of U.S. Army Flight Surgeons (SoUSAFS) The Society of US Army Flight Surgeons (SoUSAFS) serves to advance the science and art of Aerospace Medicine and its allie>[...]
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (12.04.25): Cooperative Surveillance
See All