VTOL, ducted-fan UAV for security monitoring of the London Olympics
Published 24 February 2010 A U.K. company developing a ducted-fan, VTOL UAV says the ability of the vehicle to take off vertically and maneuver around the tops of buildings would make it ideal for security monitoring at the London Olympics and other urban law-enforcement mission; the U.K. start-up says that compared to other UAVs, the Flying Wing can work more aptly against wind gusts, making it suitable for helping troops in mountainous Afghanistan
We have written several stories about the advantages for law enforcement, first responders, and search and rescue units of manned and unmanned systems based on ducted-fan technology (“U.K. Start-Up to Demo Serious Flying Robo-Saucer in 2009,” 27 August 2008 HSNW; “Israeli Ducted-Fan Sky-Jeep in Flight Trials,” 13 January 2010 HSNW; “The First True Flying Car: DARPA’s Transformer TX,” 27 May 2009 HSNW, and more).
Siobhan Wagner
writes that a
UAV that can take off vertically and maneuver around the tops of buildings has been proposed for security monitoring at the London Olympics. The concept and design for the aircraft is by
VTOL Technologies, a small
U.K. technology research and development firm based at
SEEDA’s Reading Enterprise Hub.
The single fixed-wing aircraft, dubbed Flying Wing, would lift off the ground with four thrust vectoring ducted-fan units. Wagner quotes Ashley Bryant, managing director of VTOL Technologies, to explain that once in the air, these units are designed to flip back, allowing the aircraft to fly forward at high speed. Bryant added that the thrust can be controlled individually for each unit, giving the Flying Wing the ability to maneuver around tight spaces. These thrusters would also enable the aircraft to hover, launch from a moving vehicle, or even use reverse thrust to land on a ship’s deck.
Bryant said those features would make the Flying Wing not only ideal for security monitoring at the London Olympics but also military operations such as those in mountainous Afghanistan. Bryant said that, compared to other UAVs, the Flying Wing can work more aptly against wind gusts. This is due to the placement of outboard thrusters beyond the wing-tips. “With this design because we have these fans beyond the wing-tip, we can respond to problematic wind gusts very quickly,” he told Wagner.
The Flying Wing is expected to have a maximum flight time of two hours using lithium polymer cells as the power source. VTOL Technologies is currently looking into increasing the endurance by 50 percent in the next two years with fuel-cell technologies. VTOL Technologies has spent more than eight years designing and prototyping the Flying Wing, but Bryant said further development work will require additional funding.
Wagner notes hat in 2008, VTOL Technologies secured a six-month contract, worth more than £120,000 from the U.K. Ministry of Defense’s Center for Defense Enterprise (CDE). The funding was not renewed last year due to MoD budget cuts. “Bryant is still confident he will receive development funding and when that happens it is likely his UAV will be ready for commercial deployment within 18 months,” Wagner writes.
