In an aviation milestone, Piasecki Plane Company (PiAC) efficiently carried out the primary flight of its revolutionary proof of idea tilt-duct Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System Demonstration Automobile (ARES-DV), marking a big leap ahead in vertical take-off and touchdown (VTOL) expertise. The flight occasion, which consisted of two tethered hover flights, is step one in a program to show the potential of ARES to revolutionize autonomous airborne casualty evacuation (CASEVAC), cargo resupply, and supply different multi-mission capabilities in help of small distributed fight models. This flight represents a graduation milestone in Piasecki’s experimental flight take a look at program sponsored by the U.S. Air Power and Military below a $37 million Strategic Funding Initiative (STRATFI).
ARES is a modular multi-mission tilt-duct VTOL car that may be operated as an unmanned aerial system (UAS) or with an non-obligatory manned flight module. ARES is designed with a small touchdown footprint to allow shipboard and expeditionary operations in addition to present embedded multi-mission C4I, ISR, fight, and logistics help to small, distributed fight forces working over prolonged distances and in advanced terrain. Quickly reconfigurable Mission Payload Modules are supported by a standard Flight Module to ship multi-mission flexibility with considerably decreased general logistics footprint and price.
The ARES-DV Flight Module lifted off from Piasecki’s West Helipad in Essington, Pennsylvania, on Friday, September 6, and achieved a sustained hover for a length of roughly one minute earlier than descending. Upon touchdown, the workforce connected the U.S. Military’s Cell A number of Mission Module (M4) to the ARES-DV Flight Module, and carried out a second profitable one-minute hover, demonstrating the power of its triplex fly-by-wire flight management system to maintain a steady hover in a number of configurations and a dynamic floor surroundings.
“Since its origins as a DARPA conceptual design challenge, Piasecki has led ARES by way of years of analysis and growth — design iterations, rigorous element testing, system degree validation, and extra — to mature the expertise main as much as right this moment’s landmark achievement. ARES represents one other vital milestone in Piasecki’s 80-year historical past of bringing innovation to flight,” mentioned John Piasecki, CEO of Piasecki Plane. “I’d wish to thank our Air Power and Military clients in addition to our devoted workers and companions for his or her continued help as we transfer ahead with the subsequent phases of growth. After efficiently increasing the plane’s flight envelope, we are going to implement modifications to allow flight demonstration of a completely autonomous CASEVAC and logistics resupply functionality. Profitable flight demonstration of the ARES proof of idea demonstrator considerably reduces threat and accelerates the event timeline for a household of operational tilt-duct configurations for multi-mission VTOL UAS and high-speed VTOL purposes.”
“ARES creates a brand new baseline for VTOL expertise utilized to heavy-payload, time-critical logistics essential for dispersed operations,” mentioned Barth Shenk, Program Supervisor at Air Power Analysis Laboratory.
ARES options Honeywell Aerospace’s Compact Fly-By-Wire system, an built-in flight management system that’s each light-weight and sturdy. Designed to suit into the restricted house obtainable on smaller plane, this state-of-the-art system gives safety-critical flight management capabilities sometimes present in a lot bigger airliners and superior fighter plane. It permits exact dealing with and stability throughout a variety of flight circumstances, thereby enhancing security and efficiency — and is particularly advantageous for VTOLs, the place house is at a premium and weight effectivity is paramount.
“The applying of Honeywell’s Compact Fly By Wire within the ARES-DV not solely showcases the power of this expertise to help a future multi-mission VTOL plane but in addition the good cooperation between Honeywell and Piasecki in a fast-moving program,” mentioned Dave Shilliday, VP & GM, Superior Air Mobility, Honeywell Aerospace Applied sciences.
The hover take a look at flight was funded by an Military SBIR Sequential Part II contract and by an Air Power TACFI Sequential SBIR II award. In November 2023, Piasecki introduced that it was awarded a $37 million multi-year contract by AFWERX, the Air Power’s innovation arm, at the side of the Air Power Analysis Laboratory (AFRL) and Military Medical Analysis and Growth Command (MRDC), as a part of its Strategic Funding Improve (STRATFI) program to speed up ARES growth and flight testing, amongst different superior VTOL enabling applied sciences.
“We’re deeply grateful to all our supporters, particularly the visionary management and dedication of AFRL and TATRC,” Piasecki added.
About Piasecki Plane Company
For greater than 80 years, Piasecki has been a pacesetter in vertical elevate plane. It specializes within the design, fabrication, and flight testing of experimental rotorcraft and unmanned air autos and has developed and flown greater than 25 superior VTOL and UAV plane so far. Clients embody the U.S. Air Power Analysis Lab and AFWERX; the U.S. Military Futures Command Aviation and Missile Middle and Medical R&D Command; NAVAIR; DARPA; and SOCOM; in addition to main OEMs resembling Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Piasecki is a recipient of quite a few awards together with the Presidential Nationwide Medal of Expertise, the Smithsonian Air & Area Achievement Award, and the distinguished Tibbitts Award for small enterprise innovation from the U.S. Division of Protection. Piasecki has been a proud member of the Vertical Flight Society for greater than 50 years. For extra info, please go to piasecki.com and comply with Piasecki on LinkedIn.
Supply: Piasecki Plane Company
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