The two-meter quadrocopter on gasoline stays in the air for more than 3 hours with a load

Canisters with 18.9 liters of fuel on the body of a two-meter hybrid quadrocopter Airborg H8 10K. Photo: Top Flight Technologies



Top Flight Technologies offered an interesting concept for hybrid quadcopters, which can stay in the air for several hours, fly long distances and carry heavy loads. So far, up to 15 kg, but in the future - up to 100 kg, that is, one or two people.



Such a "ability" quadrocopter received thanks to the hybrid power plant: the energy for a 10-kilowatt electric motor is produced by burning gasoline.



The new quadcopter is called the Airborg H8 10K . This is a big machine with a span of screws of almost two meters. Dimensions 195 × 160 × 150 cm.



The eight-rotor quadrocopter (4 × 2 screws) is equipped with 34-inch (86 cm) carbon fiber propellers, removable load grippers. The expected flight time with a load of up to 4 kg is three hours, with a load of up to 15 kg one hour. Accordingly, the maximum distance over which the quadcopter can deliver the cargo depends on the flight time. The maximum speed of the device is 64 km / h, and the developers call the maximum distance 160 km.



True, the speed depends on the wind. In the conditions of contamination with sand and wind, the maximum speed drops to 56 km / h, which is also quite a lot.



The UAV brain is an Advanced Autopilot System autopilot system manufactured by Top Flight Technologies. It is she who changes the settings and monitors the flight status of the hybrid power plant, which consists of a 10-kilowatt engine (engine weight 7.7 kg), tanks with 5 gallons of fuel (approximately 18.9 liters) and a 6000 mAh lithium-polymer battery (50 V).



The quadcopter operates in manual, semi-autonomous or fully autonomous mode. To record everything that happens on board, the flight recorder is installed. You can control a quadcopter from a distance of up to 3.2 km, and take telemetry readings from 15 km.





Top Flight Technologies claims that it was the first in the world to demonstrate the successful integration of a hybrid power plant into a multi-rotor, which is ready for mass production and sale. Although the cost is not called, the company says that the price will be very attractive.



At one time, the company set a world record: the UAV stayed in the air for more than 2.5 hours on one gallon of fuel (3.79 liters).



By the way, Top Flight Technologies has an interesting co-founder and executive director. This is Dr. Long Phan, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As a student, in the mid-90s he helped design the world's first unmanned helicopter, then in the early 2000s he was one of the first to use algorithmic high-frequency trading on Wall Street. Now he has proved himself as one of the pioneers in the development of hybrid quadrocopters.



“Using an energy source with such a high energy density as gasoline, transforming it into electrical energy, and doing it efficiently, we get the equivalent of 'super-battery',” says Dr. Fan.



Such quadcopters on gasoline can be useful in different areas: for gathering information from remote remote areas; for inspection of objects: power lines, gas and oil pipelines; transportation of relatively heavy loads; aerial photography, terrain mapping; use almost any equipment at the same time (capacity allows): multispectral shooting in real time, 4G communications, remote sensing, automatic direction finder, tracking system for an object, etc. The machine can be equipped and adapted for any task.



Quadcopter can be used in the work of emergency services. For example, the police, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the ambulance can send out a fast car in front of them - and by the time they arrive they will already be aware of the situation.



Now the company is conducting a survey of potential customers and agencies, what changes should be made to the design in order to undergo certification of each specific area.



Quadcopter sales will begin in the fall of 2017. Perhaps, then, indeed, commercial delivery of goods will become a reality, because now everything is frozen at the experimental stage due to the limited distance that conventional multikopter on batteries can deliver and their limited payload.



Well, Top Flight Technologies, meanwhile, has begun to develop a 100-kilowatt version of the multicopter, which will be able to lift 100 kg, that is, lift one or two people into the air for 2-3 hours to transfer to the right place. Get a kind of air taxi with autopilot. It is very convenient if such a taxi will work through the application from a smartphone.