A Match Made In Canada

Kondor Model Products, Ontario, makes model airplanes. Universal Wing Geophysics, Vancouver, provides competitive and innovative surveys to the international mining and hydrocarbon exploration industry using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

The two came together when Universal Wing was seeking a Canadian manufacturer to produce a UAV to perform land surveys.

A board member from the geophysical exploration firm, who happened to live in Thunder Bay where Kondor is located, made a visit to the company and met owner Andrew Kondor, asking if he would be interested in developing a protocol aircraft for the company, reported the Chronicle-Journal.

Kondor leaped at the opportunity. With his company supplying 35 types of aircraft for hobbyists, the Universal Wing project presented a very different challenge for Kondor.

Working within specific guidelines, Kondor developed a remote-controlled vehicle with the ability to fly up to eight hours with a full tank of fuel, to carry a certain amount of equipment, and to have the ability to conform to an auto-pilot program.

Requirements also included that the small plane be able to take off from grass and dirt fields, as well as from water and snow.

Nine months later, and after several modifications, the parties agreed on a design and the plane was built. A test flight proved the aircraft worthy and six models were ordered.

Although Kondor won't disclose the price for the planes, he said each costs about the same as a luxury sports vehicle.

A demonstration of the fiberglass and carbon fiber aircraft in Thunder Bay just this past Friday demonstrated its capabilities. It performed perfectly for its test, according to Kondor.

From a distance the plane looks like a typical airplane, however the craft has a wingspan of 13 feet, weighs 75 pounds, and can carry a payload of 40 pounds.

The six planes will now be shipped to Universal Wing Geophysics to undergo the conversion to the auto-pilot system.

Once the design passes another round of testing, it will be considered an official UAV.

Kondor is anticipating that this project will make available opportunities for other commercial designs for use in aerial medical equipment drops, law enforcement, security, search and rescue, and other ventures for his company.

"The sky's the limit," he said.

Vancouver's Universal Wing Geophysics, established in 2002, considers itself a pioneer in the civilian commercial use of UAVs as the preferred method of airborne data collection for the exploration industry in Canada.

Its mission is to deliver innovative and cost-effective service for the collection of high-quality aerial magnetic data, with no pilot risk, to the international mining and hydrocarbon exploration industry.

FMI: www.kmp.ca, www.universalwing.com