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So manufacturer says MTOW is 90kg, which likely means they barely got it in the air once at freezing temperatures on a very long tarmac strip. Max speed of 170
by hengheng 5y ago
So manufacturer says MTOW is 90kg, which likely means they barely got it in the air once at freezing temperatures on a very long tarmac strip. Max speed of 170 km/h would indicate that it's happy cruising at around 120-150 km/h. The place they found it in a barn is 170km away from the Morrocan coast around El Hoceima, so about two hours of flight including take-off and climb. Compared to a specified 7hr max flight time, they'd have to fill it up to about one third, so 9 liters of fuel, or 7kg.
An empty weight of 25kg and 7kg of fuel gives us rougly 32kg of empty take-off mass, and you then could load it up with not-quite 50kg of payload. Significant, but a far cry from the 150kg that was reported.
- blutack 5y agoUnfortunately, the 26.5kg empty weight they specify is the bare airframe. That means it excludes the engine, VTOL powertrain (motors + escs + props), general wiring/electronics and VTOL batteries. Their quoted "25kg" payload is likely about right for a shorter flight.
- hengheng 5y agoYeah, likely. I'd still be confident that it can cross the mediterranean away from the Strait of Gibraltar. But maybe the overpromising is why they found it in a barn in mint condition, and not in the air.
- blutack 5y agoDefinitely given enough fuel and decent weather.
- MomoXenosaga 5y agoI suppose drones could be a backup plan if the authorities ever manage to get a grip on shipping.
- yial 5y agoThis is running on gas, not electric. Their suggested config includes 27 liters of fuel.
- mwambua 5y agoInteresting! I was confused by the electric vertical motors in the news story's image... but it looks like the main engine is fuel powered, and an alternator powers the electric motors: https://www.muginuav.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Mugin-6000-VTOL-Diagram-0331.jpg https://www.muginuav.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Mugin-60...
- snovv_crash 5y ago90kg is in VTOL mode, it doesn't have wheels for a rolling takeoff
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