First off, we want to thank the great DIYDrones, Amateur UAV, and RC community. Without your guys input and support, a project like this wouldn't be possible.
The Albatross airframe has undergone many aerodynamic, structural, and aesthetic changes. Most recent changes include, reduced airframe weight, increased wingspar strength, and carbon fiber landing gear. (The landing gear helped reduce over all drag and weight, as well as increase ground stability and landing gear strength, helping to extend unprepared surface operation.)
Among structural testing, we are also ensuring that the real world data (see yarn attached in various locations) we are collecting coincides with our computer assisted (aerodynamic) theoretical design. So far, after careful analysis of flow conditions over the wing, fuselage, and body intersections, we are very pleased.
We are structurally testing this airframe well beyond (what will be) our rated limits. We want to ensure that the product we release is solid and will perform at the maximum quoted specifications for the entire lifetime of the aircraft. We have been testing at a Useful load fraction in excess of 0.66 (66%), so we can ensure reliable daily use in excess of 0.58 (58%).
The Albatross has been flown in winds exceeding 20kts and gusting, at runway-relative angles greater than 45 degrees (crosswind). Impressively, the airframe handles it quite well. We are doing our best to flight test airframe-characteristics in less than desirable conditions to ensure mission success.
The flights in this video were all under manual control. The main reasoning is to ensure that our feel of the airframe is not affected by the stabilization of an autopilot. Also, this allows us to put the aircraft into maneuvers that an autopilot wouldn't (currently) be able to cope with. During manual testing, we push the limits of stall and post stall maneuvering, as well as high positive and negative G loadings, while testing wing structure, and air flow.
In addition to the airframe, we have been working on a very exciting PC-based, dual 1000 nit screen (daylight readable) ground station. The ground station will incorporate Telemetery and video receiver inputs, external video inputs and outputs, external USB inputs, an internal battery system as well as a complete power supply and charger. These are only a couple of the features this awesome little machine will offer. Stay tuned for more news on this!
In other news, we will soon be announcing a fun contest which will offer up an award and allow the community to play a role in the airframe design process! Once again, stay tuned for more info!
Sincerely,
Justin, On behalf of the entire Applied Aeronautics Team.
Comments
We wanted to firstly say thank you. Thank you for your patience, your understanding and your support. It is your efforts and feedback that drove this project to what it became and we are forever appreciative of that.
We told you Monday we would start taking orders and Monday it is so we wanted to write here first. This community has given us a great deal of ideas, offered us a strong base of supporters with many providing feedback and companies alike. As such, we wanted to offer and showcase this to not just our community but people outside of our community that may not know the possibilities or existence of affordable tools like this. Our aim has always been to offer products, may it be airframes, complete ready to fly solutions, ground stations, etc at prices that can fit any budget but at the same time to not compromise quality. We wanted to vastly surpass the limits and hindrances that come with foam based aircraft and really create something priced right and unique. We have spent the last couple of weeks finalizing what has become our initial online intention – to begin offering our products via a Kickstarter campaign. Our website is now up as well but our aim is to show people that may be interested that are not of the same DIY nature that this forum is built upon what these aircraft can do and that they are within reach. All that said, the last people we want to turn our backs on are the very ones that supported us all along the way so we wanted to not only tell you all here first but also enable a way to make sure delivery preference starts with you. With any item you order, send us a message via Kickstarter or email and we will make sure yours are shipped out first. We have already made an order in anticipation of tomorrow so production has already started but as you know price, quality and quantity is a difficult task to manage. We know reasonable prices are achievable and maintainable in quantity without sacrificing quality. At the same time, prices need to start low in order to achieve the quantity needed so we have moved ahead as planned with the low prices we promised all along but to remain at these low prices the Kickstarter needs to meet its goals. Regardless though, if it does not, the airframes will still be produced but will have to suffer a price increase. We wanted to come to you with transparency in mind and with our products, tried test, pushed past their limits and then repeatedly done again and again. That’s what we have done and we look forward to seeing what you do with your Albatross.
Feel free to e-mail us with any questions at info@AppliedAeronautics.com (emails are now 100% operational and we’ll do our best to get anything answered for you).
The Applied Aeronautics Team
Check us out on Facebook@appliedaeronautics, Instagram@appliedaeronautics and Twitter@applied_aero
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/164361630/the-albatross-uav
The Applied Aero Team
For those that haven't yet seen, we have a huge update featuring not just the Albatross, but our GS, and other products!
http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/the-albatross-uav-ready-to-launch
To anyone who has not yet seen our contest, please feel free to check it out and participate!
http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/applied-aeronautics-albatross-d...
We have published a color scheme contest. The winning artist/designer will receive a FREE airframe with his/her color scheme. We will also be using the winning color scheme as the alternate color for our production aircraft!
Hi Elios,
Depending on the version, MTOW is 8-10 kg and empty airframe weight is 3-3.4 kg. We are excited to release the optimized performance figures in the near future.
Thanks!
HI Andrew,
It seems you have a great plane. We would like to know the maximum payload which can take, and the maximum flight duration if we have 1 KG of Electronics and Cameras?
Elios
Thank you Andrew! We, as Applied Aeronautics, sincerely appreciate it.
Looking good, Justin! Keep it up.
We do have a website up, however it is currently a place holder as the actual site is under construction.
Www.AppliedAeronautics.com
Hi Justin,
I have posted a link to this article about the Albatross on my dronesarefun web site here:
When you have a web site, let me know and I will link to it as well.
http://dronesarefun.com/BuildAnAirplane.html
Best Regards,
Gary
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