56 Digest | Dufour Aerospace Aero2 in general aviation – enabling a wing or control surface to be manufactured in 3 days with a single pair of tools. “That’s around 30% of the time it normally takes,” he comments. “Over the last 20 years I’ve worked with the likes of Airbus, Bombardier and Pilatus, and historically it’s taken at least 2 weeks to assemble any wing, let alone manufacture the subcomponents. “Our wing has integral ribs and spars, as well as brackets to support all the pylons, nacelles and anything else on the outside that connects near the actuator and hinge positions.” While Dufour naturally declines to disclose specifics about its manufacturing methodology until the patent is granted, Bendrey hints that it is similar to how composite surfboards are made, with all the ribs, spars and internal brackets positioned inside the carbon surface wraps before they are compressed about their foam cores. The fuselage is a monocoque design inspired by higher-end automotive body shells used in vehicles produced in runs of 500-1000 units per year, with a mixture of automotive and aerospace analysis to optimise the build quality. Data links and operator systems The Aero2 is equipped with 4G antennas and receivers to enable BVLOS flights over long distances. For practical purposes, Dufour’s long-range use cases rule out LOS links, and make cellular comms a hard requirement. “We also have a unit that enables us to use 5G and satcom as well, with the key priority being that the C2 link is always live,” Bendrey says. Regarding GCSs, Kent says, “We have developed our own stack in-house, but our general approach is to offer a smooth integration path for customers’ existing operational frameworks. Typically, our customers are already doing some kinds of BVLOS missions, and they’re going to be adding our aircraft to their operating models. Straightforward interfacing is the best thing for that.” Future plans The company’s launch customer is Spright, the UAS division of Air Methods, a US provider of helicopter emergency medical services. Spright has bought 40 Aero2s so far, with an option for 100 more, and is due to deploy them in sections of its hub-andspoke delivery operations. Other customers have not been publicly announced yet but it is known that they are focused primarily on logistics, particularly medical supplies or industrial spare parts. Many are also interested in ISR, mapping and scanning applications; Dufour estimates a 60/40 split between cargo and survey interests. The company is also planning to start demonstration flights soon outside Switzerland to show that the Aero2, along with its supply chains and manufacturing, are all at a high enough TRL to be entrusted with critical mission requirements within the next few years. October/November 2023 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Aero2 Tilt-wing VTOL transition Hybrid-electric (IC engine range extender with electric motors) Wingspan: 6.1 m (20 ft) Length: 4.1 m (13.4 ft) Height: 1.87 m (73.6 in) with wing tilted upwards Payload weight capacity (excluding fuel): 40 kg (88 lb) MTOW: 208 kg (459 lb) Maximum endurance: 3 hours Range: 400 km (216 nautical miles) Optimum cruise speed: 150 kph (81 knots) Some key suppliers Engine: Suter Industries Generator: Plettenberg Electric lift and forward propulsion motors: Geiger Engineering Tail motor: Plettenberg Airframe composite materials: Connova Structural composite materials: Aerolite Resin systems: Solvay Air data systems: Simtec GNSS: u-blox Servos: TiMotion Servos: Maxon Servos: Hitec Servos: Volz Design, development and testing support: RUAG FEM software: Hexagon FEM software: Autodesk CAD software: Onshape Specifications Spright, the UAS division of Air Methods (a provider of helicopter emergency medical services in the US) has bought 40 Aero2s so far, with an option for 100 more
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mzk4