Uncrewed Systems Technology 047 l Aergility ATLIS l AI focus l Clevon 1 UGV l Geospatial insight l Intergeo 2022 report l AUSA 2022 report I Infinity fuel cell l BeeX A.IKANBILIS l Propellers focus I Phoenix Wings Orca

113 Phoenix Wings Orca | Digest components such as the 3D-printed cruise motor bulkheads (with integral cooling system) and the tilt angle adapters for the lift motors. Powertrain components The motors are MN705S KV260 units from T-Motor with custom-made electronic speed controllers. Phoenix Wings quotes a power draw of 8 kW in a static hover and 2.4 kW in cruising flight at 30 m/s, both at maximum take- off weight and 1000 m above mean sea level in international standard atmosphere +15 º C. The batteries that provide this power are 12S lithium-polymer units configured into 22 Ah modules, of which the Orca can use two, three or four. They are designed for quick swapping by one of two methods depending on the configuration of the battery system. If they are mounted on the top rail in the cargo compartment, they are removed one after the other and replaced in the same way. They can also be mounted on the cargo pallet and replaced with the pallet in one go, Iordache explains. Tracking down any faults quickly helps minimise downtime, and Phoenix Wings uses a number of diagnostic methods. Analysis of logged data from the vehicle’s systems helps to spot trends that might indicate developing faults, and in-flight telemetry processed by the GCA is used to generate alerts to any anomalies in voltage, current temperature, rpm and other parameters that might arise. The company also uses several live debugging interfaces, and pre-flight checks are automated. Access to systems that might need attention is enabled by hatches for the parachute and avionics, while the large cargo doors in the belly allow access to the cargo space. All the major components are quickly removable for deeper maintenance and repairs, including the left and right main wing panels and wing tips, the tail boom, the vertical and horizontal tail surfaces, and the landing gear. Further, all the powertrain components including their wiring harnesses can be changed without having to solder anything, Iordache adds. Flight testing DroneX 2022 was the Orca’s public debut, and an intensive 3-month flight test campaign in Germany began immediately after the event, a smaller proof-of-concept vehicle called PW One being used to gather relevant flight test experience and the resulting data. Wang explains that the PW One has the same core hardware as the Orca, and that the ecosystem of software is compatible with both vehicles, enabling the smaller machine to serve as a flight test vehicle and a means of proving the viability of proposed operations. “We always test in simulation, including hardware-in-the-loop, and then we go to the small vehicle to test everything, especially emergency testing,” he said. “We use it to find out what happens in abnormal situations, and whether we can recover from unusual attitudes and so on, and then we can verify it on the bigger one.” Iordache explains that using simulation in the development programme brought several benefits, including the ability to automate testing, run a large number of iterations and to run many different tests in parallel. “We also provide the smaller drone as a proof-of-concept package to our partners, because that is a very cost-efficient way to do trials to prove the concepts of particular routes and potential business cases,” Wang says. “You can just take the PW One, put it in the back of a car and with one or two people at each end of the route you can run the proof-of-concept trials.” At the moment, Phoenix Wings is focused on urgent deliveries, particularly of medical supplies, but it is also looking at offshore operations. “Offshore scenarios are interesting, because they actually have quite high demand in terms of cargo volumes,” Wang says. “Also, most routes can be planned to run over water, which is unpopulated of course, making it easier to get safety approval from local aviation authorities.” That puts more demands on flight performance, he adds, for example on the ability to handle high winds. Tested in the Netherlands’ offshore environment, the PW One handled well in 50 kph winds, and the Orca is set to follow, Iordache notes. The offshore environment also puts more demands on the level of ingress protection, with a particular need to keep out rain and salt spray, for example. “This is the kind of thing we are going to test more with our partners,” he says. Iordache says the flight test programme is continuing, with further tests planned to assess performance, environmental factors, failure cases and longevity. “The Orca is designed as a modular, flexible platform that allows us to tailor it to different operational needs,” he says. “That might involve integrating camera systems, winches and hybrid propulsion – and of course we want warp drive!” Uncrewed Systems Technology | December/January 2023 Wingspan: 2.98 m Length: 2.62 m MTOW: 52 kg Payload mass: 15 kg Payload volume: 96 litres Cruising speed: 110 kph Payload versus range: 15 kg to 60 km, 1 kg to 160 km Some key suppliers Batteries: Grepow Tattu Cellular comms module: Quectel Embedded computers and microcontrollers: STMicroelectronics Motors: T-Motor RC radio equipment: JETI Specifications