The Devil Ray

Hi Guys!

If you have not seen this yet check it out!

It is the Devil Ray 2.4M flying wing made by Chris McNair.

We asked him to make one for us to use in the Australian Outback UAV Challenge. And before you ask we have an ATTO IMU onboard!

The Devil Ray has the option of 3 different wing sets 1.8m, 2.4m and a 3.6m. (We have the 2.4m)
With all the extra gear needed for the OBC, PTZ camera, 500ml water bottle, failsafe systems, transmitters, modems etc..
We loaded it up to 6.75Kg total weight. With all this extra crap on board it still had a easy take off and climbed nicely.
I still remember being impressed that even in manual mode (just over half throttle) it was doing 90-100Kph and was only pulling 15 amps.
(This is better in Autonomous!) We have a 6S 10,000mAh pack on board.
It has a very large speed envelope and handles great in the air.
The marked CG point was perfect and there is heaps of room inside which made it easy to balance. Landing speed is a crawl and has proved to be easier than the 12’ Telemaster to land.
I have an attached a couple of photos below.
I know Chris has refined the design (since making ours) and is now selling them with multiple options ranging from marine application that is water proof to a retract landing gear option for clean smooth flight.
The fixed landing gear option is nice but does add a bit more weight due to the very large wheels for our flying fields.
The Devil Ray is definitely worth having a look at if you are in the market for a high efficiency flying wing with a very large payload bay.
It also brakes down into a nice size carrying case or box.

If you like what you see you can contact Chris at chris@attopilotinternational.com as they are now available.

Cheers

Scott (Melbourne UAV)

www.melbourneuav.com

www.twitter.com/melbourneuav

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Comments

Scott James March 10, 2011 at 2:36am

Max,

It's a shane we didn't get a chance to hook up when you were in Melbourne.

Let me know when you ae coming back to town and I'll take you out and show you the Devil Ray in action.

Cheers!

Scott
Scott James March 9, 2011 at 2:11am

It is also hollow inside. you don't have to dig holes in it to fit electronics!
Moderator

Gary Mortimer March 9, 2011 at 1:43am

There are retracts for the Devil Ray available.
Developer

Doug Weibel March 8, 2011 at 8:13pm

@IS - The Zephyr is an EPP foam kit. In RC parlance, it is a kit, not an ARF if you know what I mean. The builder determines how all equipment will be located and cuts bays in the foam for the equipment. Most people who do FPV with a Zephyr mount the camera "on top" for a couple reasons. First, it is easy. Second, since there typically is no gear and you belly land having a camera right in the nose is not very friendly to the camera. With all that said, I have seen installations where the camera was mounted "inside" and I have seen Zephyrs with landing gear. It is just not the norm for that airframe.
Developer

Doug Weibel March 8, 2011 at 4:36pm

@John,

The Ritewing Zephyr has all the equipment on the inside. They are typically built without landing gear and are very clean. About the only thing sticking out is the control horns; most people build them with even the control rods inside fairings.
Scott James March 8, 2011 at 2:09pm

There is heaps of room inside, you can arrange it any way you like! (as long as you check the CG of course!)

Cheers!
Scott James March 8, 2011 at 1:57pm

Hi I.S. ,

We have spent allot of time and cash developing our (Melbourne UAV) Bottle drop mech, camera system and custom electronics for the Outback Challenge, and as it is a fierce competition, I'm not going to post all of our great Ideas just yet :) I hope you understand. Cheers!
Developer

John Arne Birkeland March 8, 2011 at 1:30pm

As far as I know Ritewing is a normal RC wing, where you have to strap all the equipment on the outside. Hardly comparable to a custom designed UAV ship. But then again there is the small matter of price.. :)
Moderator

Gary Mortimer March 8, 2011 at 10:19am

That Mini Dray could be cut in the UK to save shipping for Europeans. Might well come with some sort of ITAR exempt stabilization and navigation as well.

Three hours with an electric wing, and this is not even the most efficient airframe in the stable ;-)

The secret sauce is in the measures to gain 3% of performance before neighsayers start saying impossible. Duration figures. Ask Chris he really knows what he's doing.

Not hobby prices for these birds though, they are professional wings.
Scott James March 8, 2011 at 3:21am

I'm not sure, best thing would be to contact Chris for more info. chris@attopilotinternational.com

We are just happy customers:)

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