Arcturus Unveils New Jump Series of VTOL UAVs



   
       
           
       
       
           
       
   

Photo courtesy Arcturus UAV

By Brett Davis



California’s Arcturus UAV has taught its venerable T-16 and T-20 fixed-wing aircraft a neat new trick: They can now take off and land vertically.



The company unveiled its new Jump line of aircraft, which take lightened versions of the fixed-wing airframes and add motors, spars and batteries to convert them to VTOL unmanned aircraft.



“It looks like a modification of our T series aircraft, but it’s not in a sense in that we do not take a T series aircraft and add the vertical rotors,” says company President D’Milo Hallerberg.



Because the vehicle does not need to endure the stresses of a catapult launch and a belly landing like its cousins, the airframe could be made much lighter, although the overall Jump weighs more due to the addition of the new motors, spars and power systems, which were developed by Latitude Engineering. A Piccolo autopilot completes the package.



“It’s a game changer,” Hallerberg says. “It has stopped our customers in their tracks as far as even wanting to go forward with the T series products.”



The Jump provides the flexibility of a helicopter with some of the range of a fixed-wing aircraft, although it does come at a price in the form of reduced endurance, which drops from 10 to 12 hours down to six.



But it doesn’t require a launcher and training is easier, Hallerberg says.



“The benefit of rotorcraft is flexibility. You can launch and land anyplace and avoid vertical obstructions. And the advantage of fixed wing is endurance. By putting the two together, we really are getting the best of both worlds and our customers … are saying, wow, that’s exactly what we want.”



Arcturus, based in Rohnert Park, Calif., has been working on the Jump since October, and some customers of the existing aircraft are already lining up, Hallerberg says, although he can’t name them.



Like the T series, Jump will come in two flavors, the 15 and the 20, with the 15 primed to hit the market first.