A successful test flight of the largest unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Europe has taken place at Wick John O’Groats airport.
Sustainable Aviation Test Environment (SATE), along with lead partner Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL), welcomed consortium partner ARC Aerosystems to the airport, where tethered trials were conducted with the ARC C-600, autonomous aircraft.
According to ARC Aerosystems, the C-600 is the largest VTOL UAV in Europe with a wingspan of over eight meters, 100kg payload capacity, and the ability to travel up to 400km.
The aircraft is fitted with a cutting-edge fixed-wing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) design which eliminates the need for runways, making it perfectly suited to support the needs of rural communities in operations including mail deliveries, fisheries, and windfarms.
Improving rural connectivity is one SATE’s key missions. The project, embedded at Orkney’s Kirkwall Airport, is ideally positioned to serve as a living laboratory for cutting edge developments like the C-600 where its real-world tech can be tested.
Seyed Mohseni, Ceo and Founder, ARC Aerosystems, commented; “We are very thankful to Innovate UK and all of the involved parties that supported ARC to finish the flight test of the C-600, the largest VTOL UAV in Europe, and we look forward to beyond the visual ‘line of sight test’ to get one step closer to commercialisation.”
SATE manager Jayne Golding added; “ARC Aerosystems conducted tethered flight trials earlier this month and we are delighted to have them here to welcome key stakeholders over the next two days, including some local high school pupils and college students, who are interested in STEM. One of our ambitions is that successful trials mean our partners can use the trial data to help showcase aircrafts and technology, allowing them to develop a case for commercial use. HIAL’s remote airports are ideal for testing such flights and showing how rural connectivity is vital. With thanks to UKRI and the CAA for supporting us and our partners.”
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