Abstract:
Fancraft™ configurations have been attempted with varying degrees of success with the Piasecki ducted fan 'AirGeeps' back in the 1960s the most notable. Technical challenges tabled these vehicles at the time in favor of open rotor (helicopter) aircraft designs. Urban Aeronautics Ltd (UA) was formed in 2000 to pursue the development of compact, internal rotor configurations that addressed the earlier challenges of Fancraft™. Tactical-Robotics Ltd (TRL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of UA focused primarily on the development of military and homeland security variants of Fancraft™ including unmanned platforms. The Cormorant is a multirole UAS platform capable of a wide range of missions into complex, obstacle ridden terrain. In flight testing since 2010, it has achieved a TRL of 5. These test results have confirmed that earlier 'AirGeep challenges' have been addressed and expected performance goals have been substantiated thus far. Fancraft™ have proven viable and future testing will focus on the cruise flight regime and more advanced levels of autonomy with the goal of attaining a TRL level 6 in the next phase of testing.