Engineering:Xinying Sky Wing

Xinying Sky Wing (Tian-Yi or Tianyi, 天翼) is the name of a family of Chinese UAVs developed by Guilin Xinying Electronic Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (Xinying, 桂林鑫鹰电子科技有限公司), some of which have since entered service with various Chinese military, paramilitary and law enforcement establishments. In addition, some of models have also been exported abroad under other the name of other firms. As with all other UAVs of Xinying, Tianyi series UAV is also jointly developed by Xinying and Guilin University of Aerospace Technology (GLCAT, 桂林航天工业学院). Most of the unmanned helicopters of the Sky Wing series utilizes commercial off-the-shelf airframes, but the flight control system are indigenously developed.

Sky Wing I-E

Sky Wing I-E is a quadcopter developed by Xinying for various missions such as aerial surveillance and photography, and it is also a micro air vehicle (MAV). Specification:

• Size (m): 0.6 m
• Rotor diameter (m): 0.31
• Height (m): 0.25
• Payload (kg): 0.2
• Takeoff weight (kg): 1.15
• Cruise speed (km/h): 40
• Endurance (min): 20
• Max wind scale allowed for operation: 3
• Normal operating altitude (m): 150 (relative)

Sky Wing I-X6

Sky Wing I-X6 is an hexacopter developed by Xinying for various missions such as aerial surveillance and photography, and it is also a micro air vehicle (MAV). Sky Wing I-X6 made its public debut on September 11, 2012, when it was deployed by Chinese law enforcement agencies in the anti terrorist wargame.

Sky Wing I-X8

Sky Wing I-X8 is an octocopter developed by Xinying for various missions such as aerial surveillance and photography, and it is also a micro air vehicle (MAV). Specification:

• Size (m): 0.72 m
• Rotor diameter (m): 0.14
• Height (m): 0.5
• Payload (kg): 1.5
• Takeoff weight (kg): 7.91
• Cruise speed (m/s): 15
• Endurance (min): 12 – 15
• Max wind scale allowed for operation: 4
• Normal operating altitude (km): 1

Sky Wing I-X18

Sky Wing I-X18 is a multirotor with eighteen rotors and a pair of skids as landing gear, and it has since been renamed as XY-18. There are six arms in the form of letter Y extending from the center, each with three rotors. Two of the rotors are positioned at the end of each tip of the Y, and the remaining rotor on each arm is positioned halfway between the split of Y and the root of Y connecting the center. This UAV is currently under development by Xinying, and has not been formally named yet. The name Sky Wing I-X18 is given by Chinese military and aviation enthusiasts posted on various Chinese internet website, based on the tradition Xinying has named its multirotors developed in the past: for example, Sky Wing I-X6 is for hexacopter, and Sky Wing I-X8 is for octocopter, so multirotors with eighteen rotors would presumably named as Sky Wing I-X18, after the number of rotors of the UAV. However, the name might change in the future since the official designation has not been designated yet. Specification:

• Payload (kg): 8 – 10
• Endurance (h): 0.5
• Speed (m/s): 9 – 8

Sky Wing II-E

Sky Wing II-E is a very little known unmanned helicopter developed by Xinying, but subsequently mysteriously disappeared when its information was removed, prompting some Chinese internet sources claiming it might be adopted by Chinese military, while other simply claimed that it has been superseded by more advanced models of later Sky Wing III/V series.

Sky Wing III

Sky Wing III is an unmanned helicopter in conventional layout with a pair of skids as landing gear. Developed by Xinying, Sky Wing III is intended for various missions such as aerial photography / cinematography, survey and surveillance missions. Specification:

• Main rotor diameter (m): 1.85
• Tail rotor diameter (m): 0.31
• Length (m): 1.57
• Height (m): 0.75
• Payload (kg): 3
• Empty weight (kg): 4
• Fuel (L): 3
• Max weight (kg): 8
• Cruise speed (km/h): 30 – 50
• Endurance (min): 15 – 45
• Normal operating altitude (m): 10 – 1000
• Ceiling (km): 1
• Max wind scale allowed for operation: 4
• Power plant: 26 cc engine

Sky Wing V

Sky Wing V is an unmanned helicopter in conventional layout with a pair of skids as landing gear. Developed by Xinying, Sky Wing V is intended for various missions such as aerial photography / cinematography, survey and surveillance missions. Sky Wing V is constructed of metal. Specification:

• Rotor diameter (m): 2.146
• Tail rotor diameter (m): 0.403
• Fuselage length (m): 1.778
• Fuselage width (m): 0.508
• Height (m): 0.711
• Payload (kg): 12
• Fuel (L): 5
• Empty weight (kg): 16
• Max takeoff weight (kg): 32
• Cruise speed (km/h): 15 – 30
• Endurance (h): 1
• Normal operating altitude (m): 10 – 1000
• Ceiling (km): 1
• Power plant: 80 cc engine
• Max wind scale allowed for operation: 4

Sky Wing V-II

Sky Wing V-II is an unmanned helicopter in conventional layout with a pair of skids as landing gear. Developed by Xinying, Sky Wing V-II is intended for various missions such as aerial photography / cinematography, survey and surveillance missions. Sky Wing V-II differs from earlier unmanned helicopter developed by Xinying in that it lacks the fairing earlier models have, so it has more box like appearance. The UAV is constructed of metal Specification:

• Main rotor diameter (m): 2.2
• Tail rotor diameter (m): 0.30
• Height (m): 0.78
• Length (m): 2.15
• Payload (kg): 13
• Empty weight (kg): 15.5
• Max weight (kg): 30
• Cruise speed (km/h): 15 – 90
• Endurance (h): 1
• Ceiling (km): 2
• Max wind scale allowed for operation: 5
• Fuel (L): 5
• Power plant: 112 cc twin cylinder engine

Sky Wing VI-I

Sky Wing VI-I is an unmanned helicopter in conventional layout with a pair of skids as landing gear. Developed by Xinying, Sky Wing VI-I is intended for various missions such as aerial photography / cinematography, survey and surveillance missions. Sky Wing VI-I is constructed of metal, and specially designed for airborne emergency command / communication relay platform. Specification:

• Main rotor diameter (m): 1.9
• Tail rotor diameter (m): 0.31
• Length (m): 1.95
• Height (m): 0.9
• Payload (kg): 8
• Fuel (L): 3
• Empty weight (kg): 11.5
• Max weight (kg): 20
• Cruise speed (km/h): 15 – 90
• Endurance (min): 50
• Ceiling (km): 2
• Max wind scale allowed for operation: 4
• Power plant: 52 cc engine

Sky Wing VI-II

Sky Wing VI-II is an unmanned helicopter in conventional layout with a pair of skids as landing gear. Developed by Xinying, Sky Wing VI-II is intended for various missions such as aerial photography / cinematography, survey and surveillance missions. Sky Wing VI-II is constructed of metal, and specially designed for emergency airdrop applications (such as medication) in disaster relief missions. Specification:

• Main rotor diameter (m): 1.85
• Tail rotor diameter (m): 0.22
• Length (m): 1.57
• Height (m): 0.9
• Payload (kg): 6
• Fuel (L): 3
• Empty weight (kg): 9
• Max weight (kg): 17
• Cruise speed (km/h): 15 – 35
• Endurance (h): 1.5
• Ceiling (km): 2
• Max wind scale allowed for operation: 4
• Power plant: 26 cc engine

See also

List of unmanned aerial vehicles of the People's Republic of China