Korean Information Service, Korea successfully tested an unmanned tilt-rotor aircraft that will help the country become a leader of technology in this field, a state-run aerospace institute said Thursday (Nov. 29).
The test carried out in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, is part of a 101.1-billion-won ($108.4 million) project that will run through March 2012, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute said (KARI).
The 2-meter-long unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a wing span of 2.8 meters is a scaled-down version of an aircraft that is to built in mid-2009. The future airframe is expected to weigh one ton, with a 5-meter-long fuselage and a 4-meter-long wingspan.
Under the plan, the aircraft will be able to stay airborne for at least five hours.
“Besides being approximately 40 percent the size of the full-scale UAV, the test airframe is identical to the planned vehicle in most respects,” said Koo Sam-ok, the chief systems evaluator for the project. This similarity, the expert added, will allow essential tests including ones on flight control systems, ground avoidance software and automatic piloting technology.
Tilt-rotor aircraft, which are very difficult to make, have considerable development potential since they merge the best characteristics of helicopters with those of fixed-wing aircraft.
“They can land and take off without runways when the propellers are placed in a vertical position like helicopters, while tilting the propellers forward allows the aircraft to fly like a plane,” Koo said. He said this gives tilt-rotor aircraft better range and higher speed than helicopters.
The expert said no specific role has been considered for the Korean tilt-rotor UAV, although it can have a variety of roles including general observation, airborne surveys and reconnaissance.
Once local engineers develop the technical know-how to control and fly the aircraft safely, development of a manned version can be considered, Koo said, adding it could lead to the development of aircraft that may become the passenger cars of the future.
The KARI said the successful test of the locally built tilt-rotor aircraft is significant because the only company that has the technology is Bell Helicopters Textron, a U.S. company that made the V-22 Osprey and a civilian version of it.
It said the engines were imported from Germany, but that the rest of the parts of the aircraft were made locally.
The research institute said all technology acquired in the tilt-rotor program will be used to advance South Korea’s prowess in this cutting-edge field as well as help build other types of UAVs.
Korea is aiming to become one of the top five leaders in UAV technology by 2012.
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