USE Network launch I UAV Works VALAQ l Cable harnesses l USVs insight l Xponential 2020 update l MARIN AUV l Suter Industries TOA 288 l Vitirover l AI systems l Vtrus ABI

control effectiveness throughout the flight envelope. One of the principal benefits is that the wing is practically immune to stalling, because the propellers always provide it with an energised airflow, which also ensures that the elevons remain effective down to very low forward speeds. Ortiz says the aircraft remains controllable down to 40 kph without the use of differential thrust. Also, with the underside of the airframe clear of obstructions such as landing gear, sensors under the nose and belly have a clear view through almost 360 º . The difficulties that the configuration presents include complexity of control. That is partly because the aerodynamic interactions between the propellers and the wing make the latter hard to tune, and partly due to structural complexity that stems from the way the thrust loads from the propellers are fed into the wing through the mounting pylons. The most difficult aspect to get right, Ortiz says, was determining the proper relationship between the positions of the propellers and their effects on the performance of the wing and the elevons. The aerofoils are all of UAV Works’ own design and were developed using its own design software and wind tunnel testing. Structure and materials The VALAQ’s fuselage, wings and tail surfaces are all moulded from carbon fibre reinforced epoxy resin. Ortiz describes it as a conventional aerospace structure with spars, ribs, bulkheads and a stressed skin bonded with epoxy adhesive. The VALAQ can be described as a blended wing-body design. The wings consist of 10 structural parts, each including the skin’s spars and ribs. The fuselage is integral with the wing structure, to which it is connected by a pair of internal bulkheads, the configuration of which varies between versions to accommodate different payloads. The aircraft’s entire skin is a single piece, while the internal structural components slot together using a