At a rare AeroVironment media event in Simi Valley on Feb 25, the company’s Hummingbird project manager Matt Keennon described, and then demonstrated, the flight characteristics of its recently-developed flapping wing UAV and its precise maneuvering abilities. Weighing in at under 19 grams (less than 1 oz), and with a wingspan of 19-com, the Hummingbird includes a video camera, communications links, batteries and motors.
Matt Keennon gives scale to the Hummingbird (Guy Norris)
So far the company has demonstrated a maximum flight time of 11 min. and a top speed of 11 mph, but says both will be extended in upcoming tests. Flights will be targeted towards a ‘useful’ speed of around 20 mph, says Keennon. Anything much above this speed will make it impractical to visually track the tiny UAV, he adds.
Guy Norris AWST/YouTube
Matt Keennon gives scale to the Hummingbird (Guy Norris)
So far the company has demonstrated a maximum flight time of 11 min. and a top speed of 11 mph, but says both will be extended in upcoming tests. Flights will be targeted towards a ‘useful’ speed of around 20 mph, says Keennon. Anything much above this speed will make it impractical to visually track the tiny UAV, he adds.
Guy Norris AWST/YouTube
The prototype Hummingbird and (below) more iterations. (Guy Norris)
Although painted to loosely represent Cynanthus latirostris, a broad-billed hummingbird found in Arizona and New Mexico, the AeroVironment-made version weighs around four times as much as the real thing. The red colored bill, a non functional part of the hard shell shape developed to represent the bird, provides a useful visual directional cue for remote control of the vehicle, says Keennon. “We’re getting to the point where it flies nicely, and where we can show off its capabilities,” he adds.
Guy Norris AWST/YouTube
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