Hangar 18 had a very successful first flight of the new F2 prototype on 14 May.  

The new plane has shoulder wing design with the wing mounted on a pylon on top of the fuselage. The wing houses all of the electronics with the exception of the ESC and motor leaving the full length of the fuselage open for payload and batteries. A new payload pod system was developed for the F2 that allows full access to two payload pods via 4 screws in the nose and tail. The wing bolts on to the top of the plane and can be broken down into three pieces or made as a single piece wing. More information will be added to the Hangar 18 website this week.

We're continuing to fly the Foamaroo and are constantly amazed by what it will do.  I wanted to try using a flat spin as a failsafe/abort system for the plane and actually tested by spinning it until it impacted the ground.  My suspicions were correct - I was able to pick up and relaunch the plane after every flat spin and impact.  Only damage was a slightly loose wingtip at the end of the day.

This method of recovery in the event of loss of control will not only protect the plane and its systems but would also protect anyone/thing on the ground in the unlikely event that it came down in a populated area.

Jimmy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRo-pf0KGfY

We had a very successful flight on the Foamaroo prototype yesterday.  The Finished airframe came out at 2 lb 11 oz complete with 2200 mAH battery.  It was windy yesterday with 15 know winds and the Foamaroo handled the conditions very well. 

After a short trim flight I was able to launch the plane with a single handed toss and was happy to see that it would climb out wings level with no input on the transmitter.  I did several launches and landing as well as flight at different speeds and am very happy with how the plane flies.  Roll and pitch response is very good and the speed range is great. 

There is a video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgJFJqckloM&sns=em

Jimmy

Hangar 18 is pleased to announce that we have a licensing agreement with AttoPilot International to develop and produce an FPV version of the Jackaroo UAV. The new airframe will be a lower cost version that is designed and built with the FPV enthusiast in mind and will feature lower cost materials to let us pass the savings on to you. Please e-mail us at infor@hangar18uav.com and watch our website at www.hangar18uav.com for updates in the very near future.

Jimmy