Company:Aerovel Corporation
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| Type | Private Company |
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| Industry | Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Unmanned Aerial System |
| Founded | White Salmon, Washington (2006) |
| Founder | Dr. Tad McGeer |
| Headquarters | Bingen, Washington |
Key people |
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| Products | Aerovel Flexrotor |
Number of employees | >20 (as of 03/2019) |
| Parent |
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Aerovel Corporation was founded in 2006 by Tad McGeer, a designer of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) at various companies for more than 25 years.[1] McGeer co-founded The Insitu Group in 1992, where he was the architect of Aerosonde, SeaScan and ScanEagle. Aerovel Flexrotor is the next evolution in McGeer's line of unmanned aerial systems.[1]
In January 2024, it was announced that Airbus would acquire the company.[2] When the transaction was completed in May of the same year,[3] Aerovel became part of Airbus' helicopter unit.
Product
The Aerovel Flexrotor unmanned aerial system (UAS) is designed for maritime[4] and land-based operations, day and night, and combines endurance and expeditionary capabilities. It needs a 20' by 20' area for launch and recovery. Flexrotor takes off and lands vertically (VTOL)[5] and then transitions into horizontal wing-borne flight. It flies completely automatically after takeoff, with no pilot intervention needed. Flexrotor quickly assembles for flight, can be rapidly re-stowed in its compact case for storage and transported on a small flatbed truck.
Aerovel Flexrotor has a flight endurance of more than 32 hours,[6] which is a record-setting Group 2 UAS flight endurance, and a 100-kilometer communications range. It is an all-weather aircraft that has operated in harsh conditions including off of various vessels in the Arctic[7] and tropics.[8]
A fixed-wing aircraft, Aerovel Flexrotor requires no runway or launch and retrieval equipment. It is designed for observation, monitoring, intelligence gathering, communications relay, surveillance, reconnaissance,[9] security and scientific data collection. It can be used for a diverse range of commercial, civil and military applications at sea and on land. Airbus Helicopters acquired this product with their acquisition of Aerovel in January 2024.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Conniff, Richard. "Drones are Ready for Takeoff" (in en). Smithsonian. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/drones-are-ready-for-takeoff-160062162/.
- ↑ "Airbus Helicopters to expand unmanned aerial system portfolio with acquisition of Aerovel". 15 January 2024. https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-01-airbus-helicopters-to-expand-unmanned-aerial-system-portfolio-with.
- ↑ "Airbus completes acquisition of Aerovel and its UAS Flexrotor" (in en). AviTrader. 8 May 2024. https://avitrader.com/2024/05/08/airbus-completes-acquisition-of-aerovel-and-its-uas-flexrotor/.
- ↑ Petrova, Magdalena. "Poachers and fish beware, the Flexrotor ocean drone is watching" (in en). Computerworld. http://www.computerworld.com/article/3143434/it-industry/poachers-and-fish-beware-the-flexrotor-ocean-drone-is-watching.html.
- ↑ "Poachers and fish beware, this ocean drone is on your trail" (in en). PCWorld. http://www.pcworld.com/article/3143202/techology-business/poachers-and-fish-beware-this-ocean-drone-is-on-your-trail.html.
- ↑ "Thirty two hour flight record for Aerovel Flexrotor VTOL - sUAS News - The Business of Drones" (in en-GB). sUAS News - The Business of Drones. 2017-10-16. https://www.suasnews.com/2017/10/thirty-two-hour-flight-record-aerovel-flexrotor-vtol/.
- ↑ McFarland, Matt (2016-11-05). "Ship relies on drone to avoid ice blocks in Arctic waters". https://money.cnn.com/2016/11/05/technology/arctic-drone-ship-navigate/index.html.
- ↑ "Drones could help spot illegal fishing around Costa Rica's Cocos Island -". 2015-07-17. http://www.ticotimes.net/2015/07/17/drones-latest-tool-save-costa-ricas-cocos-island.
- ↑ "Chouest anchor handler uses UAS during ice navigation" (in en). http://www.osjonline.com/news/view,chouest-anchor-handler-uses-uas-during-ice-navigation_45305.htm.
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