Helicopters are incredibly manoeuvrable in the air, but during landing and takeoff their traditional skid- and wheel-based landing gear requires stable, flat surfaces—surfaces that are often unavailable in helicopter-needy environs such as forward operating areas, ships at sea and natural-disaster zones. Having the ability to land on and take off from angled, irregular and moving surfaces would greatly expand the effectiveness of helicopters across many military and national security missions. Continue reading
Category Archives: Technology
Drone Dome Protects Against Intrusions
A European startup is now marketing a consumer anti-drone system that’s designed to detect and report unmanned aircraft flying in a specified range of airspace. The company, Dedrone, is marketing the system to prisons, corporations, event planners — or anyone else concerned about unauthorised drones spying, smuggling or otherwise causing security concerns.
UAV to Climb to 90,000 ft Without an Engine
Applying aerospace technology and atmospheric research to fly a glider higher than any other manned aircraft has ever flown. In 2015/16 Perlan Mission II intends to set new altitude records by flying a purpose-built pressurised high-altitude glider (the Perlan 2) higher than any other manned wing borne aircraft has ever flown in sustained flight using stratospheric mountain waves and the polar vortex and in so doing harvest invaluable data about earth’s atmosphere and its ozone layer.
Flow Visualization Through The Years – NASA
This video takes a look at the evolution of various ways NASA has observed flow visualisation in aircraft structures over the years. Continue reading
GoPro CEO Talks Drones, Innovation and Future At CES
Nick Woodman, the CEO and founder of GoPro discussed drones, innovation and the role of law and regulation before a receptive crowd last night at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Woodman’s remarks took place at the Leaders in Technology dinner, hosted by the sponsor of CES, the Consumer Electronic Association.
US Navy’s Robo-Shark
The American military does a lot of work in the field of bio-mimicry, stealing designs from nature for use in new technology. After all, if you’re going to design a robot, where better to draw inspiration than from billions of years of evolution? The latest result of these efforts is the GhostSwimmer: The Navy’s underwater drone designed to look and swim like a real fish, and a liability to spook the bejeezus out of any beach goer who’s familiar with Jaws.
NASA Begins Flight Testing of Shape-Shifting Wings
NASA’s green aviation project, together with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and FlexSys, Inc, is one step closer to demonstrating technology that could make future airliners quieter and more fuel-efficient with the successful flight test of a wing surface that can change shape in flight. Continue reading
Solid-State Flight Recorder for UAS
TL elektronic, based in the Czech Republic has just launched a crash & fire-protected solid-state flight recorder weighing 750 grams (1.65lbs), which is claimed to be the smallest available recorder on the market. Continue reading