Flight Operations.

35' Skyship 500.

  Vertical performance is one of the most sought after prize's in aviation and has seldom been achieved without huge expense or complexity.  In general terms, VTOL (Vertical Take off and Landing's) duties performed by an airship, are very forgiving to control input.  It is this natural flying grace that imparts confidence and ultimately, the main reason to consider employing this type of UAV.  As the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Industry continues to mature and unravel, we have realized this niche market was not only requesting value and affordability, but ease of operation, followed closely by experienced support and service.   Our Airship's prowess can cut an edge in a few of these departments.

  Ultimately, we've achieved  the ability to operate within the typical standards of a tennis court, however, in the pursuit of performance and control, we have refined the parameters to what I like to refer to as ''Ping Pong Table abilities''   Our gorgeous Airship's are inherently stable and completely predictable through out a complete flight plan and with VTOL departures and landings, we can operate from the most remote of locations, procure our mission, and land with precise control every time. 

  Ease of operation has been the fundamental focus of our entry into the Bright, White and Ready for Flight Industry.    As unmanned helicopters or even fixed winged aircraft really don't lend themselves very well to piece of mind during flight, as in, one mistake or a failure of any one flight component, will leave you in search of a scattered pile of debris!   Now, please do not get me wrong, there are operations and conditions that both aircraft or choppers can do that an airship would be limited by, but not for the buck, when it comes to expense, what is expensive is buying something that doesn't work! 

  With our Airship's tame handling qualities, there is no tendency to mentally fall behind on the control's and you can completely relax and let the Airship's natural flying abilities work with you.  In short, it's practical to instruct a novice and have them flying within minutes and then completing circuits like a pro.  This 'built in' forgiving nature, will most importantly shield you from suffering what is known in the business as a 'helmet fire' and ultimately, allows you grow as an operator.  We have shown time and again, the ability to take-off and then within 1 minute from departure, set the transmitter on the ground and virtually let the aircraft demonstrate its uncanny ability to fly trimmed and level through out a completed circuit, then the rest of the flight can literally be flown using nothing more the trim tabs on the control transmitter.

  On the other side of the coin, it's a wonderfully balanced vehicle that can accomplish full throttle departures and when combined with maximum speed and rate of climb,  you can literally stand this one on it's tail for departures from within the smallest of areas.   Once you are versed in the art, you will find the machine's are capable of nose high, ultra-short turns, all within their own length, never a stall, never a spin!

 

Preflight run-up of the engines.

  We always consider the wind direction and velocity before flight and would typically take-off with the nose pointed into the wind.  After completing a pre-flight walk-around and ensuring full fuel and batteries, we would then start the engines and perform a full throttle run up.   At this point, we would either lift-off from our starting table or simply walk with the vehicle to the point where it is clear for take off.  This permits single person operation, as you have complete control over the airship and will be able to position yourself in the optimum area for safe operation's.  

Hover and ascent.

  Then, slowly climb out in the hover mode to approx. 50 ft in altitude, then, by relaxing the left control stick into the self-centering position, the engines are then vectored forward.  With additional throttle, we then begin to accelerate both forward and vertically, as the airship transitions into normal flight, we can then let go of the left stick altogether.

Engines vectored forward.

  Once the airship is in forward motion, control of the flight path is performed with the right thumb, in this mode, they fly very much like any normal aircraft.   At the point of transition between ''Hover Mode'' and "Normal Flight", there is no radical inputs of any kind, just allow the TVM stick to self center and add throttle, smooth and effortless.  In general, we keep the vehicle's nose to windward,  and as forward flight begins, elevator pressure is applied and the Airship can now climb to altitude smartly. 

Flight controls in action.

 

Settled back and trimmed at altitude.

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  At altitude, final adjustments are made to the throttles and to the T.V.M as to trim the vehicle for its most efficient flight, small inputs to the remote control tail surfaces can set the blimp up for a slow turning flight, or in the case of cross country flying, you can trim for a heading and be assured it will continue on the track.

Overhead cruisin.

 

Perch and Stare Mode.

  When promoting messages or in regards to photography, the Perch and Stare Mode allow's the ultimate in Video imagery and still photography, the possibilities are virtually endless.  Any time during flight, you can simply rotate the engines to their take-off position and allow the vehicle to come to a complete stop.  Once forward momentum is arrested you can then add light throttle to arrest any rate of sink.  Once the vehicle is docked at altitude, you can with piece of mind, pan around with a camera or in the case of advertising, you can pick the spot that you would like to dominate and make it so.  This maneuver is defiantly the most prominent and defining characteristic of our reliable Tripod's.

Crow Stance.

  With none of the worries about stalls or spins, they have to be one the most pleasurable vehicles in the world to operate.  The final portion of the flight is where our airships have nothing to do with the ''typical'' in aviation, the "dreaded landings" are simply poetic.  With the nose pointed windward, we would advance on the landing zone with the engines thrusting in the "forward-down position", then by holding up elevator, the blimp is manipulated into a nose high or "high drag" configuration, which we refer to as the "Crow" stance.

 Vertical Landing Mode

  In a pure "V.T.O.L" approach, we would vector the engines towards the ground and apply full throttle, this allows you to aggressively "pull" the airship straight down horizontally, all with complete control.

Inbound landing sequence.