Airbus Zephyr
Airbus Zephyr is a series of very light, unmanned aerial vehicles ( drones ) powered by solar cells that were developed by the British company QinetiQ and taken over by Airbus Defense and Space in March 2013 . The use of these aircraft is optimized for the thin air at altitudes higher than 15 km ( altitude platform ).
The Zephyr holds the record for the longest flight by unmanned aircraft. In a first series of tests in December 2005, a flight time of 6 hours was achieved. Unofficially, at the end of 2008 the US Army test site in Yuma even achieved a flight time of 82 hours and 37 minutes. An official record flight of 336 hours and 21 minutes in July 2010 also took place in Yuma . On August 6, 2018, a record flight of 26 days was set in Arizona, which is the longest flight by an aircraft to date.
construction
The Zephyr, which was started by hand and made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic , is driven by electric motors that get their electricity from thin-film solar cells. At night, lithium-sulfur batteries take over the energy supply. It is controlled by an autopilot with GPS .
The current model is larger than the Zephyr 6 and can therefore carry more batteries. In addition, the shape has been revised aerodynamically . The most noticeable changes are the T-tail unit and the wing tips pointing downwards. But improvements have also been made in the area of energy management.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Zephyr 5 (-1 / -2) | Zephyr 6 | Zephyr 7 | Zephyr 8 | Zephyr S | Zephyr T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| span | 18 m | 22.5 m | 23 m | 25 m | 33 m | |
| payload | - | 2 kg | 5-10 kg | 5 kg | 20 kg | |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 31 kg (5–1) 25 kg (5–2) |
30 kg | 45 kg | 100 kg | 80 kg | 160 kg |
| Service ceiling | > 60,000 ft (18,000 m) | 65,000 ft (19,800 m) | ||||
| Engines | 2 electric motors | |||||
Countries of operation
On May 15, 2009 the Flieger Revue reported that seven units were to be procured for the Pentagon and the US Navy and that they would be delivered by May 2014 at a price of 45 million dollars including a ground station.
Web links
- Zephyr - Airbus Defense and Space (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ First flight of Astrium's Zephyr solar HAPS . Airbus Group . Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved on August 29, 2016.
- ↑ QinetiQ's Zephyr UAV exceeds official world record for longest duration unmanned flight ( Memento from April 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ FlugRevue November 2008, p. 18, Zephyr flies 82 hours
- ↑ netcomposites.com: Qinetiq's Zephyr Solar Powered Unmanned Aircraft Soars To New World Records. Retrieved October 2, 2018 .
- ↑ heise online: Airbus solar aircraft sets world record: 26 days in the air. Retrieved on August 8, 2018 (German).
- ↑ qinetiq.com: QinetiQ's Zephyr solar powered unmanned aircraft soars to new world records. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 23, 2010 ; Retrieved July 25, 2010 .
- ↑ a b c Annabel Rapinett: Zephyr: A High Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Air Vehicle. Retrieved June 24, 2014 .
- ↑ FlightGlobal: UAV Directory - Aircraft Specification: Qinetiq - Zephyr 6. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 5, 2013 ; Retrieved June 24, 2014 .
- ↑ FlightGlobal: Qinetiq's Zephyr 7 UAV to fly in mid-2010. Retrieved June 24, 2014 .
- ↑ Craig Hoyle: Airbus to target UAV record with improved Zephyr. Retrieved June 24, 2014 .
- ↑ a b Zephyr. Accessed August 8, 2018 .
- ↑ Airbus to establish Zephyr flight test center in Western Australia | Jane's 360. Retrieved January 8, 2019 .