with all the V8 FDs around someone didn't get the message...

just what motor drives the prop on this army drone?

how about a one rotor air cooled "Wankel" whatever that is. i wanted to tell the nice army guy that i could sell him a somewhat higher hp "Wankel" for a bit less but decided to keep my mouth closed.

seen at EAA/Oshkosh thursday.



so if you hear a Zoom Zoom Zoom from above i suggest you take cover.

hc

 

awesome! looks like the tiny 5cc OS Wankel I have!

 

Or a sachs wankel hard to tell the size but too cool either way. Good find!

 

The drone itself appears to be an Rq-7 (seriously). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AAI_RQ-7_Shadow

The motor is made by UAV, which is related to Norton which made rotaries for motorcycles back in the 80s. The engine has 208cc displacement with a max of 38bhp:



it's about 600mm long and 330mm wide. More info here:

http://www.uavenginesltd.co.uk/index.php?id=396

I have been unable to find pricing on the AR731 engine, but I believe almost all of them are used in aviation applications. Though I bet my mower would haul *** with one of these things though. Here's another site with info on small single rotor engines: http://www.barnardmicrosystems.com/L4E_wankel.htm and a listing of all the UAV rotary engines available http://lahohwa.com/casiaero/supply/uel_uav.htm

 

Osh Kosh, eeesshhh.... Great as a spectator not so fun as a controller working them to and from that airport :-) Cool UAV though, I'm sure someone out there is dying to swap an LS motor in it...

 

I actually had that job for awhile. Its a pretty cool little bird but the sound gets annoying. Looks like the RQ-7B. The launch and landing are the coolest. Giant slingshot powered by nitrous on a carrier system. 0-160 knots in about 40 feet. And yes, from 7,000 Feet I can tell you your shoes are untied.

 

that is pretty intense never seen anything like that

 

Im actually an instructor at the school house in Ft Huachuca for this. I flew it in the military and now teach soldiers and civilians how to fly it.

Its a RQ-7B for sure with an 1101 engine. It has a dual ignition and is a carb. We have a fuel injected one coming out soon but not yet. Yeah no muffler so it is loud as hell but its max speed is only 110 Knots. The launcher is nitrogen not nitrous and it launches at 70 knots. It was built by a company called AAI but I dont hold that against the Shadow (actual name of the bird).

As cool as it is and as much as I love my rotary in my car, this bird has had a lot of engine failures in the past. Most of the problems have been fixed, although we are having some new issues of it spiking to 10,000k in the RPMs and then cutting in air.... Like I said though most of the issues have been solved but your going to get issues when they are used as much as they are.

 

sounds like they named it an Rq-7 as a joke

 

Good info! Norton Rotary is still around the rotary bike scene with their NRV 588. If this bike ever becomes street legal here in the U.S. I'm buying it. I can't remember if its a prototype or a full on race bike, but it did compete in the Isle of Man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph-n7-naQxo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDngDlIuyIE


The military is so cool.

 

I'll be sure to be tanning nude when I hear the zoom zoom.

 

this is a sweet find, HC. i would love to see an itemized receipt for $800,000 though.

air cooled, eh? makes me wonder a few things:

what fuel do they run?
what apex seal materials?
what is the capacity of the lubrication system?

 

Isn't Glassman making ceramic apex seals for a UAV rotary engine?

 

That race bike is super sick!

 

I guess Atkin's single rotor application didn't suit them?

http://www.atkinsrotary.com/index.php?pag=14

 

Ha! Buddy of mine manages the development for these things. Armytim's right.. they have been working on the FI version for the last year or so and it looks like it's getting close, but with some frustrating issues. Would make a helluva go-cart. I saw one of the engines make its way to eBay a few years back. Sold for something like $300.


Yeah, I noticed that and asked him about it. It's not for this project. I know it's hard to believe but the government didn't want to spend the cash.

 

1) what fuel do they run?
Its a 100 low lead Aviation Gas (AVGAS) that it runs off of. Did run of 87 for a while lol. After every flight the fuel is bleed out and refilled for the next.

2)what apex seal materials? ceramic

3)what is the capacity of the lubrication system?
It has a 2.5 liter oil reserve in the center section of the wings. Uses Mobil Pegasus Oil usually 15W40. Oil is topped off after every flight and there is no oil sump in the system. Its pumped out through veins and then dumped into the atmosphere lol. Doing all we can for the environment

Also the engine is close to that UAV one posted earlier but not the same one. Pretty simular though

 

That must have some horrible fuel consumption! The high bsfc is the givaway.

 

I'm surprised that you are shocked that a rotary engine consumes a lot of fuel.

 

once you get those thing so high in the air they basically fly with no power i can fly my remote control airplane for so long it gets boring.

 

High bsfc compared to carb'd flat head two cylinders though? You have to remember how primitive engines for this application tend to be.

 

From what I remember they get 6-8 hours on a tank full.

 

Yup 6-8. 8 is pushing it big time lol. The Army wont let it be flown more than 6 hours but in relife situations it sees a lot longer.

Fuel is about 5-7 liters an hour on average. Trust me its not even close to flying a remote control hobby plane lol. Well other than it can get boring after a while of flying lol

 

I'm not surprised by that at all. It's just higher than any other rotary I've ever seen.

 

Its spot on with all I have read in the way of engineering papers. What have you got that suggests its poor?