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DECEMBER 2010: Elbit Systems completes Skylark® I-LE with new AEROPAK
Skylark® I-LE is one of less than a handful of UAS to perform a fully operational test flight using the AEROPAK fuel cell, including an operational payload, take-off and recovery. Horizon Energy Systems announced the successful test flight of its AEROPAK fuel cell power system onboard Elbit Systems Skylark® I-LE UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System).
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NOVEMBER 2010: Horizon Powers RUSSIA's 1st Hydrogen Fuel Cell Flight
In a pioneering success by the P.I. Baranov Central Institute of Aviation Motors (CIAM) in Russia, the first hydrogen fuel cell powered CIAM-80 unmanned aircraft took off last week at a test flight facility near Moscow. According to the CIAM specialists, ¡°although the test flight only lasted several minutes, it opened a new era in the evolution of aviation power-plants, reviving research which had been interrupted in the 1990s. In the long term, this type of innovation could double the efficiency of aviation engines while simultaneously eliminating harmful emissions.
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OCTOBER 2010: AEROPAK sets new mini UAV endurance record in South Korea
In a pioneering collaboration between HES (Singapore) and the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) in South Korea, the battery pack from a close-range RemoEye-600 UAV from UCON Systems was replaced with Horizon¡¯s AEROPAK fuel cell power system. At the same total take-off weight, the EAV-1 flew three times its normal flight duration, setting a new unofficial flight record for mini-UAVs in South Korea.
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AUGUST 2010: Horizon's AEROPAK equips IAI MALAT's BE650 mini-UAV
"The Bird Eye 650 UAS already offers a high level of operational flexibility with the latest generation autonomous flight and mission capabilities. We put tremendous effort in researching ways to find a power source that can match this impeccable aircraft. We have now equipped it with AEROPAK, a state-of-the-art fuel cell system which will clearly make the Bird Eye 650 the best in its class," Alex Grinberg, R&D Director of UAS program at IAI MALAT Division.
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1. IAI's BIRD EYE 650 UAS |
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AUGUST 2009: First UAV maker integrates Horizon¡¯s fuel cells
Bluebird Aero Systems concluded a 3 year effort to integrate the PEM technology into a specially designed UAV, developing support systems like Hybrid capabilities for system power redundancy, fuel-cell cooling mechanism and more. The Horizon Fuel Cell powered UAS is already licensed for flights in Israel and is graded as a "matured" system. Bluebird's "Boomerang" is a field-operational 9kg electric powered UAS which is now able to fly for over 8.5 hours using Horizon's high performance hydrogen-electric power system.
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NOVEMBER 2007: FAI World Record-breaking flight distance for micro-UAV
Two leading U.S. aerospace research laboratories supported by NASA, the Dryden Flight Research Center, the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation, set a new micro-UAV flight distance record of 78 miles (128 km) in Lancaster, California exceeding by 28 miles (40 km) the previous record set in 2006 in Estonia. Even more significant is that this flight record was achieved using only 25% of the hydrogen tank capacity stored on-board the aircraft. On a full tank of fuel, the aircraft's flying range is 500 km (310 miles), enabling flights that are several times longer than ever recorded previously.
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1. Pterosoar UAV 1 |
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2. Pterosoar UAV 2 |
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APRIL 2007: Breaking flight speed records.
Developed by a consortium led by Germany's DLR, the "HYFISH" took the world by surprise as this jet-wing design took to the skies with no combustion, powered by a record-breaking palm-size 1.2kW Horizon fuel cell weighing only 800g. The plane performed vertical climbs, loops and other aerial maneuvers at speeds reaching 200 km/h. The complete power system including hydrogen supply weighed no more than 3kg.
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1. Hyfish fuel cell jet 1 |
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2. Hyfish fuel cell jet 2 |
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AUGUST 2006: First flight powered by a Horizon fuel cell.
Under a program sponsored by NASA and US Air Force, the Multidisciplinary Flight Dynamics Laboratory at California State University LA, flew a first fuel cell electric powered aircraft using a 500W Horizon fuel cell connected to a standard pressurized hydrogen bottle.
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