The remotely piloted helicopter is aimed at supporting offshore logistics support missions.
Rotorcraft manufacturer Robinson Unmanned has completed a series of demonstration flights with its AirTruck uncrewed logistics platform.
The AirTruck is a remotely piloted derivative of Robinson’s R44 four-seat, piston-driven light single helicopter.
Over a two-day series of missions in New Iberia, Louisiana, on 2 and 3 September, Robinson dealer Aviation Academy of Louisiana (AAL) completed a series of drills designed around the needs of offshore oil and gas operators. These included cargo loading and unloading, elevated deck landing, precision positioning and airspace integration, with the AirTruck flying repeated approaches to a platform configured as an offshore deck.
A crew of two personnel managed the aircraft: one pilot in command, who controlled the AirTruck remotely, and a second individual for ground support.
Each AirTruck carries a useful load of up to 453kg (1,000lb) and over 1.7cbm (60 cb ft) of internal volume, with a cruising speed of over 100kt (185km/h) and a flight ceiling of up to 14,000ft.
Remote piloting is enabled by the RPX unmanned flight system from Rotor Technologies.
“When you build an unmanned aircraft on a proven helicopter, they don’t trade away reliability to gain autonomy,” says David Smith, chief executive of Robinson Helicopter. “They get both, and they get to send the aircraft, not the crew, on the highest-risk legs offshore without giving up the load or the capability they have come to count on from Robinson.”
Source: Robinson Helicopter
As far as choice of venue for the demonstration flights, Louisiana is a hub of the US offshore energy industry in the Gulf of Mexico, and the head of Robinson’s partner AAL says any aircraft manufacturer wanting to secure business in the sector has to prove its vehicle can thrive in that hot, humid and stormy maritime climate.
“If an aircraft like this is going to carry part of that load, it must land on a deck and it must be maintainable here. Louisiana is where you find that out,” says Beau Prine, general manager of the Aviation Academy of Louisiana.
Because the AirTruck uses the proven, actively flying R44 as its base, Robinson says the uncrewed design can be quickly and cheaply integrated by existing operators because the AirTruck uses “the same airframe, the same parts, and the same people” supporting missions.
AAL operates from Acadiana Regional airport in New Iberia, west of New Orleans in the Mississippi River Delta. The company provides flight training, Part 145 repairs and Part 91 operations, which Robinson says can already support conventional Robinson helicopters and the unmanned AirTruck.
The company is separately developing a larger uncrewed cargo aircraft for military customers, which Robinson calls the TurbineTruck. That design is based on the R66 helicopter and uses autonomous flight technology from Sikorsky, rather than being remotely piloted.
In April, Robinson secured a $15 million contract from the US Marine Corps to support development and flight testing of a prototype TurbineTruck aircraft.
The post Video: Robinson demonstrates AirTruck unmanned cargo variant of R44 helicopter first appeared on FlightGlobal.
