Completed Flight Test of Next-Gen HAPS UAS Sub-Scale Model

In addition to verifying whether the aircraft could fly with stability as designed, following the actual flight test, SoftBank collected and analyzed various data, including data on the aircraft's structural characteristics By Joe Macey / 11 Aug 2023

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Flight test of next-generation HAPS UAS
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Softbank Corp has collected the necessary data for flight verification and aircraft design as part of its development of a next-generation UAS designed for High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) by testing a sub-scale model.

A low altitude flight test for the sub-scale model, a small-scale version of an actual aircraft, was conducted on March 14th, 2023 in Willcox Playa, Arizona.

The sub-scale model used in the flight test was based on “Sunglider,” a UAS designed for HAPS-based stratospheric telecommunications.

The current version of Sunglider, developed by SoftBank’s subsidiary HAPSMobile and AeroVironment successfully reached the stratosphere during a test flight conducted in September 2020. 

Based on the achievement and lessons learned from Sunglider’s stratospheric flight test, SoftBank and AeroVironment are developing a next-generation UAS.

In this flight test, carefully crafted multiple sub-scale models were used to create conditions equal to those of the full-scale aircraft’s shape and characteristics. In addition to verifying whether the aircraft could fly with stability as designed, following the actual flight test, SoftBank collected and analyzed various data, including data on the aircraft’s structural characteristics, that could not be otherwise obtained from computer-based simulations.

SoftBank and AeroVironment will apply the data and know-how obtained in this flight test to the development of the next-generation UAS. Both companies are also continuing to focus on acquiring Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification and making design improvements to enable mass production.

“By creating multiple sub-scale models that replicate the shape and characteristics of the full-scale next-generation candidate aircraft and conducting repeated flight tests, we were able to obtain crucial data on next-generation design and control policies that could not be otherwise obtained from computer-based simulations,” said Junichi Nakajima, Director of SoftBank’s Advanced HAPS Research Office and Senior Vice President of HAPSMobile’s Technology Administration Division. “We will continue our efforts to develop aircraft and foundational technologies to realize commercial HAPS-based stratospheric telecommunication services.”

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