A new Aerosonde altitude record

Hamilton, Victoria
March 28, 2001

by Gavin Brett, Chief Engineer, Aerosonde Robotic Aircraft

The first two flights of the new H-Type engine have been performed without a hitch, including setting a new Aerosonde altitude record of 20,000ft.

The flights were performed at Aerosonde's test site at Hamilton in western Victoria under ideal conditions. The first flight was 1 hour long after which it was brought back for a quick going over and then straight back up again for another 5 hours.

During the first flight general tests were performed including; engine stability, altitude control and operating temperature all of which were excellent. Of course the most exciting and significant was the extra climb performance due to the increased power. This will enable us to carry more fuel and stay aloft for significantly longer.

For the second flight we continued the above tests but also started altitude cycling, culminating in the record altitude of 20,000ft. The new engine ran flawlessly right to the very top. On decent everyone played "eagle eye" trying to be the first one to spot the aircraft coming down, once spotted it was bought in for a perfect 1-point landing.

The first field operation for the H-Type will be in Barrow, Alaska during April where it's ability to with stand icing will be put to the test. The Aerosonde is being used by the National Science Foundation for studying weather and sea ice conditions.