A team of engineers from Flowcopter (Scotland) is building a heavy-duty, high-capacity drone powered by a Rotax main engine that drives four main hydraulic motors. Already during the first test flights, it became clear that it could lift a weight of about 100 kg without any problems.
In the future, production Flowcopter models will deliver a payload weighing up to 150 kg over a distance of up to 900 km, thereby forming a new “ultra-long” niche of UAVs, which, for example, will be engaged in transporting cargo to remote settlements, to oil rigs located far in the sea or will take part in search and rescue operations.
The stake on the Rotax aircraft engine is not accidental – drones with electric motors will not be able to handle such loads. However, the ICE also has its own problems. One of them is the difficulty in instantly adjusting the torque to balance the drone in flight.
The use of hydrocarbon fuel, however, may cause claims from environmentalists. However, if we compare such a drone with a helicopter, then its emission level will in any case be much lower.
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