In an extraordinary achievement, NASA has successfully completed the maiden test of a battery-powered plane with 10 engines that can take off and land like a helicopter. The plane flies efficiently like an aircraft and it is not making any noise. The plane is named as Greased Lightning, also known as GL-10, is a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that has just successfully completed its first test flight.
It could be used for delivering small package or vertical take off and landing, long endurance surveillance for agriculture, mapping and other applications. The remotely piloted plane has a 3.05 meters wingspan, eight electric motors on the wings, two electric motors on the tail and weighs a maximum of 28.1 kilogram at take off.
According to Zack Johns, GL-10’s primary pilot, flying the ten-engine aircraft has its ups and downs, but it really flies more like a three-engine plane from a control perspective. The GL-10 will be on show at the Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International 2015 conference in Atlanta from 4-7 May.
Tidbits
- An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), known in the mainstream as a drone and also referred to as an unpiloted aerial vehicle.
- They are usually deployed for military and special operation applications.
- Nazi Germany produced and used various UAV aircraft during the course of WWII.
GK Questions
- India is also planning to buy UAVs IAI Heron from which country? Israel
- The GAGAN UAV is jointly developed by DRDO and HAL. What does GAGAN stands for? GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation System.
- What is the name of the wheeled version of Nishant UAV? UAV Panchi
