NASA's new drone takes off like a helicopter and flies like a plane - TomoNews
- 9 years ago
NASA's latest unmanned aircraft combines the maneuverability of a helicopter with the speed of a plane.
The Greased Lighting, also called the GL-10, has eight electric motors on its wings and two electric motors on the tail. It has a 10-foot wingspan and weighs only 62 pounds.
It takes off vertically like a helicopter and it switches to "wing-borne" mode while in mid flight to fly like a conventional airplane. To land, the rotors tilt vertically again.
According to Popular Science, the drone was tested in the past for vertical takeoffs, but it wasn't until this spring that it could manage to switch from vertical to horizontal wing orientation in mid flight.
NASA plans to use the plane in future for small package delivery, surveillance in agriculture, mapping and other functions.
A much larger version of the aircraft could also be used as a personal air vehicle for one to four people.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f
Stay connected with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS
Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/
Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus
The Greased Lighting, also called the GL-10, has eight electric motors on its wings and two electric motors on the tail. It has a 10-foot wingspan and weighs only 62 pounds.
It takes off vertically like a helicopter and it switches to "wing-borne" mode while in mid flight to fly like a conventional airplane. To land, the rotors tilt vertically again.
According to Popular Science, the drone was tested in the past for vertical takeoffs, but it wasn't until this spring that it could manage to switch from vertical to horizontal wing orientation in mid flight.
NASA plans to use the plane in future for small package delivery, surveillance in agriculture, mapping and other functions.
A much larger version of the aircraft could also be used as a personal air vehicle for one to four people.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f
Stay connected with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS
Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/
Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus