A160T Rotorcraft Flies 18.7 Hours
Boeing announced this week it successfully flew the A160T
Hummingbird unmanned rotorcraft for 18.7 hours May 14-15, claiming
an unofficial world endurance record for unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) weighing between 1,102 and 5,511 pounds (500 to 2,500
kilograms).
"We didn't set out to establish a world record, but it was a
great accomplishment," said Jim Martin, Boeing Advanced Systems
A160T program manager. "This 18-hour endurance flight is the
culmination of thousands of hours of systems, ground and flight
testing. The aircraft performed flawlessly, flying un-refueled
longer than any other current unmanned rotorcraft. Our customers
are excited about this important flight, the needs the A160T fills
and the many options it gives warfighters."
During the flight at the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in
southwestern Arizona, the turbine-powered aircraft carried a
300-pound internal payload at altitudes up to 15,000 feet, landing
with better than 90 minutes of fuel in reserve. The flight began
May 14 at 2055 PDT and ended May 15 at 1536.
Boeing has submitted an application to the National Aeronautic
Association, the US sanctioning body for the Federation
Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), to officially claim the world
record. FAI establishes rules for the control and certification of
world aeronautical and astronautical records.
"With its ability to operate autonomously for extremely long
durations while carrying heavy payloads, the A160T is perfectly
designed for a variety of military missions," said Grady Eakin,
Boeing Advanced Systems director of Business Development. "The
A160T's large internal bays can accommodate multiple sensor
payloads, allowing it to simultaneously perform persistent
intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition,
communications relay, direct attack and other missions all in the
same sortie. An externally mounted payload module can deliver heavy
supplies or recover high-value assets with great precision."
The aircraft used in the 18-hour test was one of the A160Ts
Boeing Advanced Systems is building for customers including the US
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the US Army
Aviation Applied Technology Directorate and US Naval Air Systems
Command. The same aircraft achieved another flight milestone May 9
by successfully completing hover-out-of-ground-effect (HOGE)
demonstrations at altitudes of 15,000 and 20,000 feet.
As ANN reported, the program
suffered the loss of a test aircraft near Victorville, CA in
December 2007.