Photo: UAVOS
UAVOS has completed a successful test flight of the ApusDuo solar-powered high-altitude platform system (HAPS). The test flight, at a European Flight Center, was conducted continuously for 11 hours and reached altitudes of 15,000 meters.
The ApusDuo successfully achieved more than two dozen test points, including energy balance validation, power and propulsion performance, and propeller revolutions per minute evaluation. The team also tested aircraft motor control efficiency, which was refined following previous test flights.
After operations in Europe, UAVOS plans to transport ApusDuo to Argentina. The company is accelerating preparations to perform the next phase of test flights in the stratosphere.
ApusDuo is a stratospheric UAV running on solar power, and is meant to provide persistent local satellite-like services. Built with carbon-fiber composites, it can be landed, re-equipped with multitask payloads and re-deployed. It is also capable of flying autonomously from takeoff to landing and can be remotely operated from its ground-control station.