DUBAI, United Arab Emirates and EDMONDS, Wash., June 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — We are excited to share the news that Jetoptera and Eanan Al Samma have kicked off the flight test campaign of a subscale, box-wing VTOL aircraft which is a flight test bed for the J-500 autopilot development.
The subscale eVTOL version of the J-500 VTOL cargo UAV being co-developed by the two companies is one of the tools for perfecting the automated transitions to and from forward flight. The goal of the campaign is to further integrate the J-series flight controls to develop the autopilot and navigation system for the larger J-500 UAV. The J-500 will address the U.A.E. market. It will be powered by the unique, patented Fluidic Propulsive System™ developed by Jetoptera and will have a maximum speed of 200 knots and payloads of up to 50 kg.
The subscale eVTOL model is battery powered and is operated in automated mode, including VTOL, hover, and transitions to and from forward flight. The tests conducted so far show excellent automated conversions from hover to forward flight and vice versa, as well as hover maneuverability of the aircraft, without pilot intervention. In automated mode, the mission is uploaded to the onboard …