Uncrewed Systems Technology 043 l Auve Tech Iseauto taxi l Charging focus l Advanced Navigation Hydrus l UGVs insight l MVVS 116 l Windracers ULTRA l CES 2022 show report l ECUs focus I Distant Imagery

83 Windracers ULTRA UAV | Digest permissions in the UK for its 30 kg Spotter platform. The university also developed the world’s first 3D-printed aircraft, which has been flown extensively by the UK’s Royal Navy, including BVLOS flights in the Antarctic. Recent university-developed platforms have undertaken BVLOS research flights over volcanoes in Guatemala as well, in collaboration with Bristol University. This track record has instilled a deep appreciation of the importance of systems reliability throughout the design process. The Windracers design team has followed a strict ‘design for safety’ philosophy, which has ensured that every single point of failure has been rigorously eliminated, including in the avionics, comms and ground control. For example, the roll, pitch, yaw and high lift control surfaces are segmented. A total of 24 fully interchangeable and identical control surfaces are used on the aircraft, leading to very high levels of redundancy. Roll control, for example, has a total of six fully independent, actuator/ control surface units. Each one is self- contained and houses the servo unit and connectors. Faulty or time-expired control surfaces can be replaced in minutes for maintenance purposes. Propulsion One of the most important early decisions concerned engine selection. Two-strokes were rejected for reasons of emissions and the logistics/operational complexity of two component fuel systems. The use of certified light aircraft engines Unmanned Systems Technology | April/May 2022 was severely restricted, meaning that the team had only a 2.5 hour window to complete the 2 hour return flight. Operational efficiency and platform reliability were key to meeting these extremely stringent proving flights. Shetland and Orkney Islands A further, Innovate UK-funded campaign was undertaken this year to prove the feasibility of a network of flights more representative of a typical ‘hub and spoke’ logistics arrangement. This was a more extensive campaign, again carrying Royal Mail cargo across multiple islands. The main challenge, unsurprisingly, was coping with poor weather, with operations in very strong turbulent winds, precipitation and poor visibility. This has proven that the ULTRA is capable of operating in similar weather minima to Part 23 aircraft such as the Cessna Caravan or Britten Norman Islander. The Windracers team demonstrated successful daily operations from five different airfields in four weeks, completing up to two return flights per day in time-restricted slots. The ULTRA was used to carry daily and heavy loads of Royal Mail packages for several weeks