Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
The LaserMotive system transmits laser light from a ground station to a photovoltaic receiver on a UAV. Reflected light from the UAV is then captured and used to monitor its position and dynamically control the laser to deliver the power to the correct position Recently, at the Future of Flight
Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
NASA says it has awarded the largest prize in aviation history, $1.35 million, to Team Pipistrel-USA.com for pushing the envelope on electric-powered flying.To win the CAFE Green Flight Challenge, the Pennsylvania-based team's Taurus G4 electric airplane flew a 200-mile course from Charles M. Schulz Sonoma
Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
Officials of the US Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) Smart Collection Office in Washington has issued a broad agency announcement for the initial phase of the Great Horned Owl (GHO) programme. The programme seeks to develop fuel-to-electricity systems that couple advanced combustion engines to alternators or generators, as well
Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
A US Navy MQ-8B Fire Scout conducts the first unmanned biofuel flight at Webster Field in St. Inigoes, Maryland. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Directorate piloted the helicopter fueled with a combination of JP-5 aviation fuel and plant-based camelina. The biofuel blend reduces carbon dioxide output by 75 percent when
Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
The US Navy is showing interest in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Vulture solar-powered, ultra-endurance unmanned aircraft as a means of providing communications to carrier strike groups if satellites are knocked out. The Vulture programme is developing technology for an unmanned aircraft able to stay aloft for up
Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
Boeing is looking to fly its company-funded Phantom Eye hydrogen-fuelled, long-endurance unmanned aircraft in late October or early November at Edwards Air Force Base, California.The twin-engine, 150-ft.-wingspan demonstrator is due to be rolled out onto the dry lakebed at Edwards this weekend for an integrated fuelling, engine run
Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
The US military is sending so many surveillance aerostats to Afghanistan that industry is scrambling to supply helium and “cannot keep up with the increased demand” for the containers that hold the gas. That’s according to documents from the Defense Logistics Agency, the Pentagon office responsible for keeping vital
Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
Wireless Power Beaming Company LaserMotive, Inc. of Kent, Washington has secured investment funds from Space Angels Network, a national network of seed‐and early‐stage investors focused on aerospace‐related ventures, led by Brad Fleury, a Space Angels Network member and Director of Edge Consulting. LaserMotive is an independent R&
Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has announced that the growth variant of the Rolls-Royce AE 3007H engine has successfully completed its US Air Force-funded flight test. The engine is designed to enhance performance of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft and will offer customers significant improvements in engine durability
Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
DARPA has released this first - and perhaps only - video footage of the ill-fated second test-flight of DARPA's Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2). Shot with a handheld camera by a crewmember aboard the Pacific Tracker, the first monitoring vessel able to visually track the HTV'
Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
Researchers have been working on designing and fabricating micro-air-vehicles (MAVs), flying robots the size of small insects, but always come up against the difficulty of creating a tiny, lightweight aircraft capable of carrying a payload and being powered by a long-life onboard power source. Researchers at the University of Michigan
Aircraft Propulsion & Energy
EnergyOr Technologies Inc., a developer of advanced proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems, recently demonstrated a long endurance flight of more than 10 hours with its fuel cell powered, operational unmanned aircraft. The aircraft, FAUCON H2, complete with integrated avionics, executed a predetermined flight plan for 10 hours and