Engineering:WHWASC UAV
| WHWASC UAV | |
|---|---|
| Role | Unmanned aircraft |
| National origin | China |
| Manufacturer | WHWASC |
| Designer | WHWASC |
| Status | In service |
| Primary user | China |
WHWASC UAVs are Chinese UAVs developed by Weihai Wind Air Sports Club (WHWASC) and entered service in China for aerial advertising, cinematography, photography, and survey missions.
Unmanned blimp
Unmanned blimp is the first UAV developed by Shi Guo-Hu (史国虎), the founder of WHWASC. Although currently in production with WHWASC, the unmanned blimp was actually first developed in 1999 by Mr. Shi when he was thirty-five, eight years before WHWASC was formed. Mr. Shi served in Chinese military after graduating from a military school, and after his honorable discharge in 1994, he became a white-collar office worker. Mr. Shi’s hobby is aviation and in his spare time, he developed an unmanned blimp on his own, which evernutally resulted in one of the biggest money earners for WHWASC when the unmanned blimps are frequently contracted by local businesses for aerial advertising.[1] As of late 2014, the unmanned blimp is also the only WHWASC UAV that is planned to be jointly produced by other Chinese enterprise in Wuhan.[2]
Unmanned paramotor
In 2007, Mr. Shi formed WHWASC in Weihai,with the original membership consisting more than a dozen paragliding enthusiasts. As the club expanded, it became a company in retail business, providing aviation sports equipment, model airplanes, and air sports training. The business gradually expanded to UAV arena by providing aerial photography and advertising.[1] The utilization of the unmanned blimp as an aerial advertising platform was relatively successful, but using fixed-wing or rotary-wing UAV of other manufacturers proved to be somewhat less satisfactory, mainly because of the relative high cost of these UAVs. WHWASC therefore developed its own unmanned paramotor as an additional UAV to provide aerial photography and advertising applications.[2] In comparison to fixed or rotary wing UAVs, unmanned paramotor has lower cost, while at the same time, it also has some advantages fixed wing UAVs have that are absent on unmanned blimps. WHWASC actually developed manned paramotors first for sport and recreation purposes, but since Chinese government has not yet opened up low leval air space to the public like western countries, restrictions led to the development of unmanned paramotors by WHWASC for aerial advertising instead.
Fixed-wing UAV
Fixed-wing UAV of WHWASC is solely developed by Mr. Shi himself. The origin of this fixed-wing UAV dates back to 2011, when Mr. Shi was tasked to go to Beijing to test fly an UAV for some other Chinese UAV manufacturers who develop fixed-wing UAVs. During these tests, Mr. Shi realized that these fixed-wing UAVs could not meet customers’ requirement at a hundred percent. Mr. Shi decided to develop a fixed-wing UAV of his own, which he begun in March 2013. Development took five months and was completed by the end of July of the same year. This fixed-wing UAV is ready for production up on receiving customers’ orders, and is specifically designed for aerial survey and photography missions. The airframe is constructed of carbon fiber composite material, which reduces weight by seventy-five percent in comparison to fiberglass, the more commonly used material for UAV.[1] The flight control system costs seventy ¥, and the entire UAV system costs several hundred thousand ¥[1] The UAV is fully capable of autonomous flight and only need human control when take-off and landing.[1] The fixed-wing UAV is conventional layout with high wing configuration and fixed tricycle landing gear. Propulsion is provided by a propeller driven tractor engine mounted in the nose. The wing can be removed or assembled in the field for rapid development.[3] Specification:[3]
- Wingspan (m): 3.2
- Length (m): 2.2
- Weight (kg): 15
- Endurance (hr): 2
- Ceiling (km): 3.5
- Take-off distance (m): 50 – 60
See also
List of unmanned aerial vehicles of the People's Republic of China
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "WHWASC UAV". http://www.whnews.cn/news/node/2013-08/01/content_5760353_2.htm. Retrieved Aug 1, 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "WHWASC unmanned blimp". http://www.9uav.com/?action-viewnews-itemid-1517. Retrieved Aug 5, 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Fixed-wing UAV". http://www.whnews.cn/news/node/2013-08/01/content_5760353.htm. Retrieved Aug 1, 2013.
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