Unmanned Systems Technology 006 | ECA Inspector Mk2 USV | Antenna systems | Northwest UAV NW-44 | Unmanned ground vehicles | Navigation systems | Lunar X challenge

55 the GCU 280 W of electrical power. In the process of this testing programme, the NW-44 passed the endurance test embodied in the FAA’s Federal Aircraft Regulations Part 33 (airworthiness standards). The Export Administration Regulations (EAR), which are administered by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, control most US exports of products considered strategically significant (those that could potentially aid an enemy). The NW- 44 is the first commercially available EAR 99-approved propulsion system, meaning it does not necessarily require an export licence. Harris adds that the NW-44 propulsion system is available to the global UAV industry as a commercial off-the-shelf solution, “saving aircraft manufacturers the millions of dollars and years of development it would take to produce their own”. He emphasises that the NW-44 features the consistency of performance from unit to unit and the reliability that comes from aviation-grade manufacturing. “That is crucial when a half-million dollar payload depends on the engine not failing!” the completion of more than 100 hours of flight testing of the NW-44, in the process, it claimed, “setting a new altitude record for small, naturally aspirated unmanned propulsion systems”. Harris adds, “That over-50 lb UAV flew a typical mission profile, in 12 hours of operation consuming less than five litres of heavy fuel.” Flight tests had been conducted using both gasoline and heavy fuel at operational temperatures across the -15 to +45 C range and with altitudes exceeding 23,000 ft. The undisclosed craft in question used only 290-330 g/h of fuel (attaining the equivalent of 670 mpg or 285 km/l) while providing from Unmanned Systems Technology | February/March 2016 Based not far from Portland in Oregon, Northwest UAV (NWUAV) supplies propulsion and payload solutions for UAVs, including engines produced in-house and others made elsewhere (it is a dealer for a number of other manufacturers). To date, NWUAV has produced more than 10,000 systems for UAV use. NWUAV’s manufacturing processes are designed to obtain consistency of performance. Company owner and president Chris Harris notes that such consistency is not characteristic of alternative “hobby grade” based UAV engines. “Our customers expect aviation-grade consistency, and that is what we provide,” he says. Each engine made by NWUAV has ‘back to birth’ traceability of all its components. This includes recording who built the engine, what tools were used and so on, and continues through the break-in (running-in) process and all subsequent operation, using data logged by production test equipment and the ECU. Engine break-in is a strictly controlled process whereby all units are treated identically, eliminating the variations that can otherwise occur. NWUAV has large running cells where banks of engines can be simultaneously motored (up to 39 at once) on a selection from eight different fuels. After break-in, each engine is manually tuned in respect of the ECU mapping for the individual unit, reflecting the fact that variability in manufacture is unavoidable (albeit as manifested in minute tolerance differences). Harris notes that there might be only a 1 thou difference in port height, but that “everything matters”. NWUAV The NWUAV NW-44 team. Left to right, back row: Dean Glass (r&d engineer), Cory Fast (project manager), Jedidiah Van Den Bosch (director of engineering). Left to right, front row: Chris Harris (owner/president), Greg Stadeli (r&d machinist), Jeff Ratcliffe (chief technical officer/business development), Joe Gibbs (VP business development) The engine was tested under conditions of a 32 g launch, far beyond what it might normally see, so that we could obtain a reliable product