Image source: topwar.ru
Russia has begun testing a new unmanned tiltrotor with a smart wing. This was reported in the press service of the National Technical Initiative (NTI) Project Support Fund. According to the developers' plans, the aircraft will take off and land vertically, being also equipped with an autopilot.
The tests of this small-sized aircraft will be held within the framework of the "Vezdelet" project at the site of the Technopark of the Central Aerodynamic Institute (TsAGI) named after Professor Zhukovsky.
Here is how Mikhail Lipatov, General Director of the M-Industries tiltrotor manufacturing company, commented on this initiative for RIA Novosti:
As the head of M-Industries stressed, it is planned to create a sample of this equipment by the summer, while flight tests are scheduled for the autumn of this year.
According to the press service, the increased safety of an unmanned commercial tiltrotor will be ensured due to the variable geometry of the wing both during takeoff and landing. Another factor affecting its level of security is the presence of an autopilot in it. The flight speed is expected to exceed 100 km / h, and the device itself will be able to hover in the air for at least an hour and a half, even when fully loaded. The maximum flight altitude is 4 km . According to the plans of the developers, the design will be equipped with 8 electric motors, whose service life will be higher compared to fuel engines.
Also noteworthy is the fact that when switching to airplane mode, the propellers of an unmanned aircraft will rotate horizontally, and the aircraft itself will be supported in the air due to the lifting force generated on the wing and the walls of the impellers.
As Lipatov clarified, the goal of the project "Unmanned air cargo delivery" is to deliver cargo in areas with poorly developed road infrastructure, that is, to marine facilities, because the cost of producing such machines is much lower, unlike helicopters, besides, their fuel consumption is higher.
