Lite Machines' Voyeur VTOL UAV - the real thing

Video of the Voyeur coaxial-rotor VTOL UAV being flight tested indoors under a US Navy contract. The UAV is electrically powered and the rotor blades fold so it can be stored in a tube until needed. Check the website: www.litemachines.com

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• UAV
• VTOL
• unmanned
• aircraft

[theworacle]

It depends on the sophistication of the autonomous flight control system. There is no reason it should be any worse than a small helicopter - and it has almost no side area to be caught by the wind.

[UAVguy11]

What about the two giant spinning rotors? Could those be 'caught by the wind'? The coaxial design is far inferior to the traditional helicopter main/tail rotor design or the more radical four stationairy rotor design used by some other UAVs. theworacle - leave the engineering to the real engineers.

[theworacle]

There are some who would disagree that a coaxial rotor need always be inferior to a conventional helicopter (among them Kamov and Sikorsky - and I think they employ real engineers). It has its challenges, but it doesn't waste power driving a tailrotor, and a conventional helicopter would be hard to fold up to fit inside a sonobuoy tube. As an engineering solution to specific mission requirement, this looks like it might work.

[agungk]

Big flying DILDO!

[RoboTekno]

perfect for the lady on the go

[polka23dot]

According to Wikipedia: While such a model is extremely stable and can be flown indoors even in tight quarters, a coaxial model helicopter has limited forward speed, especially outdoors... A principal disadvantage of the coaxial rotor design is the increased mechanical complexity of the rotor hub... Because of the greater number of moving parts and complexity, the coaxial rotor system is more prone to mechanical faults and possible failure.

[obliviousfafnir01]

@agungk Our tax dollars at work.

[bombaadi]

nice ..

[alvaradokids]

@hotshot090 COUNTER ROTATION LOOK UP KAMOV HELICOPTER FROM RUSSIA..... THIS IS BASICALLY A MINIATURE

[hotshot090]

How is this thing stable? (if you don't know what the rocket/pendulum fallacy is, please don't reply)

[djkalja]

just throw a rock and it will come right off! :)

[Agnes135]

Flying Dildo?

[Drratburn]

Yeah, uh, I hate to tell you but, WE'RE NOT GOING ON THE OFFENSIVE IN IRAQ BUDDY. We're not just fucking blowing up random towns, not any more at least.

[EUROSUN1]

Does anyone know how heavy it is? 5 Pounds 6 Pounds?...

[alvaradokids]

if you armed these with a granade they would be able to take out cars !!!! 100 of these flown ito a town under darkness with incindiary grenades would create havoc, or just regular grenades how bout a shaped charge??? grate weapon platform....