Unmanned Systems Technology 003 | UAV Solutions Talon 120 | Cable harnesses | Austro Engine AE50R and AE300 | Autonomous mining | AUVSI 2015 show report | Transponders | Space systems

18 T homas Snitch of Maryland University is assisting in an anti-poaching effort at a South African game reserve. He recently told the AUVSI- sponsored website, increasinghuman potential.org , that one reason UAV Solutions’ Talon 120 unmanned aerial system (UAS) is used for this particular programme is that, due to its 12.5 ft wingspan, the Government of South Africa considers it a hobby aircraft that is not subject to Civilian Aviation Authority jurisdiction. This overcomes the need to file a new flight plan for each mission. Snitch added, “The Talon 120 is affordable – the entire system of the UAS, camera and ground package is less than $28,000. I like to price the UAS under the cost of a car. I can teach the rangers to fly the Talon in a few hours and show them how to repair it in an hour. We have to have technology that is appropriate for local environmental conditions. You must consider the capabilities of the locals who will fly and operate the UAS. It must be simple, but get the job done.” The Talon 120, produced by UAV Solutions in Baltimore, Maryland, is a small, lightweight, electric-powered UAS ideal for surveillance tasks such as anti-poaching. Designed to be rugged and rapidly deployed, including hand launching by a skilled pilot where appropriate, it has found users in universities, the police and even the military as well as diverse other applications since coming to market in 2012. Commercial uses include pipeline inspection in South America, search and rescue missions, agriculture and even fish surveys. The 120 platform is produced using composite materials, with some components made using additive manufacturing (AM, or 3D printing). It features a modular nose section that can handle a range of cameras, sensors and other payloads up to 2.5 lb in weight, plus it has the capability for a second payload bay located at its centre of gravity. The 120 can fly missions for two hours and can be configured for belly or parachute landing. It is capable of fully autonomous operation and has radio and video communications using encrypted digital data. As standard it carries UAV Solutions’ own beneficially combined stabilised colour and thermal imager vision system. It is the state of the art in this category of (size- and cost- defined) unmanned system. UAV Solutions has four versions of the Talon platform including the 20 ft wingspan 240 and the 12.5 ft wingspan 120. All are electrically propelled but an IC-engined version of the 240 is Ian Bamsey finds the state of the art in small, electric-powered fixed-wing autonomous aerial craft in the form of UAV Solutions’ Talon 120 Summer 2015 | Unmanned Systems Technology Low-ticket trailblazer The Talon 120 in flight