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50 O ne of the autopilot systems most widely used in UAVs these days is Cloud Cap Technology’s Piccolo. Cloud Cap Technology was founded by Piccolo creators Ross Hoag and Bill Vaglienti in 1999, and in 2012, having been acquired by Goodrich, the company decided to develop its own dedicated UAV small- displacement, single-cylinder two-stroke. Goodrich was in turn acquired by United Technologies (the company that also owns Pratt & Whitney) and then Hoag and Vaglienti left to form Power4Flight, which is based near Portland, Oregon. As its primary goal, Power4Flight set about developing uniquely capable facilities for the testing and development of UAV power units, which could be supplied to third parties together with its deep systems expertise. Also, Power4Flight acquired the UAV engine programme that had been incubating within Cloud Cap, and Cobra Moto had become involved in this project. A specialist in small-displacement two- stroke motorcycle engines, Cobra, which is based near Ann Arbor in Michigan, had duly set up a UAV engine division, Cobra Aero, to develop the engine core for the project. At the same time, Australian company Currawong Engineering had been contracted for the project’s fuel injection and engine control needs. Having been acquired by Power4Flight, the ownership and financing of the UAV engine project has been shared between these three partners. Cobra Aero has responsibility for the design and manufacture of the core engine, Currawong Engineering supplies the fuel and control system hardware, and Power4Flight heads the development of the software, endurance testing and airframe integration. Cobra has 20 years of experience of developing two-stroke motocross engines that have proved highly successful in competition, and its founders have extensive experience with Ian Bamsey investigates a brand-new, purpose-designed UAV two-stroke that includes some fascinating innovations Attention to detail February/March 2017 | Unmanned Systems Technology The A33 benefits from sophisticated dyno testing