Unmanned Systems Technology 004 | Delair-Tech DT18 | Autopilots | Rotron RT600 | Unmanned surface vehicles | AMRC | Motion control | Batteries

40 T he many advantages of a rotary engine are widely recognised, but so are its inherent challenges. In fact, many of the well known hurdles have been overcome, but look deeper and there are others, ones that have been successfully addressed by Rotron. A member of the Gilo Industries Group (GIG), we visited this innovative UK company to learn what has been achieved and how. GIG’s founder Giles ‘Gilo’ Cardozo took up powered paragliding in the 1990s, and in 2000 he built his own such device (effectively a marriage of a paraglider and a backpack-mounted An attempt to fly over Mt Everest, and a defence project, led to the formation of a dedicated rotary engine company. Ian Bamsey investigates its twin-rotor RT600 model Summit of success The RT600 engine, shown here in heavy-fuel guise with four spark plugs per rotor Autumn 2015 | Unmanned Systems Technology