Aerovel Corporation

Last updated
Aerovel Corporation
Company type Private Company
Industry Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Unmanned Aerial System
Founded White Salmon, Washington (2006)
FounderDr. Tad McGeer
Headquarters Bingen, Washington
Key people
  • Dr. Tad McGeer
  • (President)
ProductsAerovel Flexrotor
Number of employees
>20 (as of 03/2019)
Parent
Aerovel Flexrotor Flexrotor.jpg
Aerovel Flexrotor

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

Aerovel Flexrotor Flexrotor VTOL 10-12-17.jpg
Aerovel Flexrotor

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. 1 2 Conniff, Richard. "Drones are Ready for Takeoff". Smithsonian. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  2. ↑ "Airbus Helicopters to expand unmanned aerial system portfolio with acquisition of Aerovel". www.airbus.com. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  3. ↑ "Airbus completes acquisition of Aerovel and its UAS Flexrotor". AviTrader. 8 May 2024. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  4. ↑ Petrova, Magdalena. "Poachers and fish beware, the Flexrotor ocean drone is watching". Computerworld. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  5. ↑ "Poachers and fish beware, this ocean drone is on your trail". PCWorld. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  6. ↑ "Thirty two hour flight record for Aerovel Flexrotor VTOL - sUAS News - The Business of Drones". sUAS News - The Business of Drones. 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  7. ↑ McFarland, Matt (2016-11-05). "Ship relies on drone to avoid ice blocks in Arctic waters". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  8. ↑ "Drones could help spot illegal fishing around Costa Rica's Cocos Island -". The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate. 2015-07-17. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  9. ↑ "Chouest anchor handler uses UAS during ice navigation". www.osjonline.com. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
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