Photronix
Pilot
I am really surprised at the reaction my post has received. We felt it was a big win to be accepted at this level and I will explain why. It seams like the political nature seeped into the reaction and makes me curious what would have happened if it was the DNC instead of the RNC. I'm not sure there was any cost to tax payers for United Drones to be there. It was a special request by the event coordinators including the addition of the aerial drone. United Drones was not sure they would be able to fly at the event but they are planning to bring it in case they receive authorization.
One of the reasons United Drones was asked to develop the Wraith and the Aether Aero was specifically to save taxpayer dollars. The big defense contractors would charge 10 times as much for the same capabilities and would have taken years to develop. They were developed for other applications and as I said were asked to be at the RNC. When I saw the article and talked to them they hoped to fly. I'm not sure the final word has really been made on this.
Hoverfly was excited to be part of it because we were chosen after a great deal of testing as the only flight controller that could do the job. They need to be able to lift large payloads which the other controllers were unable to do (tragically I might add). In addition, we are available for support and are willing to work with OEM customers to develop specialized software to integrate with other systems. Finally, we are Made in the USA and an actual corporation. US drones require US brains. There is simply no way they will buy or fly ones with Chinese flight controllers.
In the article Curt mentioned the capabilities of what he thought their line of aerial drones could achieve. The article was written as if the one they were bringing to the RNC could achieve these. This was misconstrued as he stated in the second article someone posted "Our problem is everything we said was misconstrued," he said. "We talked about our capabilities, not what we're doing there."
So back to the specs.
50lbs - This has been flown and tested
4 hour flight time - This is special battery technology that is not available to the public. Some of the tests were more like 7 hours. So yes it is very possible.
Hurricane - Wow yeah I'm sure it would be in the air but I'm not sure you would call it flying.
109X zoom - Yeah this exists and is about 2lbs, fits in your hand, and is pretty amazing. No thats not it in the pic someone posted. Thats not even the aircraft they developed as far as I can tell.
4000 feet high - Sure thats not hard....not going to be easy to get clearance tho.
Lift with 2 fingers - Sure the frame is carbon and its light. I can lift a skyjib frame with one finger. Add the payload, batteries, motors, etc...no I can't lift it with 2 fingers. But who knows what the reporter thought he meant. AUW? who knows.
So I hope you will see the post for what I think it is. A nice mark of approval after a great deal of testing by some pretty remarkable engineers. It's a nice win for USA too because both United Drones and Hoverfly are completely US based manufacturers.
BTW the Wraith is a badass. It was developed very quickly to combat the ambushes our border patrol agents have been getting killed in. In some places the US southern border has one or two agents for every 50 miles. When they get in trouble backup can be over an hour away. The Wraith can follow them all day long and has the ability to act as backup for each agent. Its big about the size of a large ATV and has the capability to protect an agent.
One of the reasons United Drones was asked to develop the Wraith and the Aether Aero was specifically to save taxpayer dollars. The big defense contractors would charge 10 times as much for the same capabilities and would have taken years to develop. They were developed for other applications and as I said were asked to be at the RNC. When I saw the article and talked to them they hoped to fly. I'm not sure the final word has really been made on this.
Hoverfly was excited to be part of it because we were chosen after a great deal of testing as the only flight controller that could do the job. They need to be able to lift large payloads which the other controllers were unable to do (tragically I might add). In addition, we are available for support and are willing to work with OEM customers to develop specialized software to integrate with other systems. Finally, we are Made in the USA and an actual corporation. US drones require US brains. There is simply no way they will buy or fly ones with Chinese flight controllers.
In the article Curt mentioned the capabilities of what he thought their line of aerial drones could achieve. The article was written as if the one they were bringing to the RNC could achieve these. This was misconstrued as he stated in the second article someone posted "Our problem is everything we said was misconstrued," he said. "We talked about our capabilities, not what we're doing there."
So back to the specs.
50lbs - This has been flown and tested
4 hour flight time - This is special battery technology that is not available to the public. Some of the tests were more like 7 hours. So yes it is very possible.
Hurricane - Wow yeah I'm sure it would be in the air but I'm not sure you would call it flying.
109X zoom - Yeah this exists and is about 2lbs, fits in your hand, and is pretty amazing. No thats not it in the pic someone posted. Thats not even the aircraft they developed as far as I can tell.
4000 feet high - Sure thats not hard....not going to be easy to get clearance tho.
Lift with 2 fingers - Sure the frame is carbon and its light. I can lift a skyjib frame with one finger. Add the payload, batteries, motors, etc...no I can't lift it with 2 fingers. But who knows what the reporter thought he meant. AUW? who knows.
So I hope you will see the post for what I think it is. A nice mark of approval after a great deal of testing by some pretty remarkable engineers. It's a nice win for USA too because both United Drones and Hoverfly are completely US based manufacturers.
BTW the Wraith is a badass. It was developed very quickly to combat the ambushes our border patrol agents have been getting killed in. In some places the US southern border has one or two agents for every 50 miles. When they get in trouble backup can be over an hour away. The Wraith can follow them all day long and has the ability to act as backup for each agent. Its big about the size of a large ATV and has the capability to protect an agent.
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