New Hampshire company Rotor Technologies is retooling Robinson R-44 helicopters with new sensors and other tech to allow them to be piloted remotely.
I Learned How to Fly This Electric Aircraft in a Week—and I Didn’t Need a License, hoping to create a new class of unmanned aerial vehicles. Rotor Technologies is adopting the Transformer-sounding names Airtruck and Sprayhawk for different markets.
Both massive drones are based on the Robinson R44 full-scale helicopter—the world’s best-seller—with a maximum takeoff weight of 2,500 pounds. Rotor CEO Hector Xu said the companies have collaborated on development and certification. “These two aircraft bear unprecedented capability that will be transformative for drone operators, who for many years have wanted longer flight times and larger payloads,” Xu said in a statement.
The Sprayhawk, operated by a ground crew of two, can take off and land vertically. It also has a 120-gallon spray tank with 33-foot spray booms, an autonomous spray path, and camera and LIDAR sensors for detecting wires and avoiding obstacles. It can spray at over 80 mph. The Sprayhawk’s introductory list price is $990,00, with the first being delivered this year to a client in the Midwest.
“We’re excited to bring drone manufacturing back to the United States—by being bigger, bolder, and more innovative than our global competition,” said Xu.Classic-Car Showcase: Why the Nearly Perfect 1991 Acura NSX Is as Relevant as EverMeet the Wine Club That Thinks Differently.
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