Vanilla Unmanned
Vanilla Unmanned is an American long-endurance, low-cost UAV manufacturer. Founded by aerostructures designer Daniel Hatfield, systems engineer Neil Boertlein and programme manager Jeremy Novara, it had an annual budget of $300,000 from NASA and the US Department of Defense.[1] In October 2020, the company was acquired by Platform Aerospace, a provider of aircraft prototyping, modification, and systems integration.[2]
Aircraft
VA001
The Vanilla Aircraft VA001 is a long-endurance UAV. Powered by an off-the-shelf diesel engine driving a pusher propeller, it is controlled by a Piccolo autopilot.[1] Weighing up to 600 lb (272 kg), it has a 36 ft (11 m) wing and a 55-gallon (208-litre) fuel capacity.[1] It has a projected endurance of up to 10 days at 55 kn (102 km/h) and up to 15,000 ft (4,600 m), burning 1 lb (450 g) of jet fuel per hour.[1] It is launched on a sled by a towline attached to a pickup truck and lands at 40 kn (74 km/h) on a centrewheel.[1]
It can carry a 30 lb (13.6 kg) payload: electro-optical and SAR sensors for surveillance including maritime, or act as a radio relay.[1] Having cost $3 million to develop, its production cost would be $500,000 while it is comparable to the 24h-endurance Boeing Insitu ScanEagle.[1] In October 2017, it completed a five-day 1 h 20 min flight at NASA Wallops in Virginia, covering 7,000 miles (11,265 km) and landing with three days of fuel remaining.[1] Vanilla seeks to raise $5 million as a larger design could carry a 250 lb (113 kg) payload.[1]
Vanilla UAV
On 2 October 2021, a Vanilla UAV completed an eight-day and 50 minute flight from Edwards AFB in California, flying 10,600 nmi (19,600 km) in circuits; an internal combustion engine-powered UAV record to be ratified by the FAI.[3][4] VA001's maximum takeoff weight was increased by 75 lb (34 kg); it was 200 lb (90 kg) lighter at landing, and it can carry a 150 lb (68 kg) payload over 15,000 nmi (27,780 km).[5] In November 2021, NASA flew the UAV in the Arctic from Deadhorse Airport, Alaska, to test instruments to survey the region, monitoring sea level change, as it could fly for nearly five days over sea ice, Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets: a radar to measure the depth of snow, ice-detecting sensors, heating systems, and a special anti-icing coating.[6][7]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Garrett Reim (23 April 2018). "ANALYSIS: Vanilla Aircraft eyes 10-day flight and first customer". Flight International.
- ↑ "Vanilla Unmanned is now solely owned and operated by Platform Aerospace" (Press release). Platform Aerospace. Oct 13, 2020.
- ↑ Garrett Reim (5 October 2021). "Vanilla UAV claims world record eight-day flight without refuelling". Flight Global.
- ↑ "Sweet success: Vanilla Unmanned completes 8-day record flight". USAF. October 5, 2021.
- ↑ ""Game changer for the UAV industry" Vanilla UAV spends 192 hours in flight". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. 17 May 2022.
- ↑ Roberto Molar Candanosa (March 2, 2022). "NASA Helps Fly 'Vanilla' Ice Drone to Study Arctic Sea Ice Thickness". NASA Goddard. Unknown parameter
|orig-date=ignored (help) - ↑ "Vanilla UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System)". eoPortal. ESA. Mar 7, 2022.
External links
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