Unmanned Systems Technology 012 | AutoNaut USV | Connectors | Unmanned Ground Vehicles | Cobra Aero A33i | Intel Falcon 8+ UAV | Propellers | CES Show report

52 Dossier | Cobra Aero A33i Design of the engine core at Cobra Aero was led by Hilbert, with Phil McDowell as chief engineer and Scott Castonguay as chief development engineer. At Power4Flight Jim Newton leads the project; at Currawong Engineering, Gavin Brett. The design process was iterative, integrating CAD, dyno testing and simulation, using combustion as well as gas dynamics models. The project has access to the source code, enabling it to tune those models to its specific application and uses the dyno to calibrate the models. A clean-sheet-of-paper design specifically for UAV application, work on the A33 began when Power4Flight acquired Cloud Cap’s engine project in early 2013; dyno running started later that year. Various components of the A33 were flying within different engine formats through 2015 and 2016, with first tests of a complete engine in 2017. “An engine like this has lots of competing requirements, which draws out the development process,” notes Hilbert. Now in production-ready form, the A33 is in its third iteration. There have been changes in displacement, intake architecture, porting and generator February/March 2017 | Unmanned Systems Technology Elements of the A33i