Farnborough 2012: Drone taking part to the Air Show breaks into three parts after landing

July 9, 2012 Drones, Farnborough 2012

David Cenciotti

This year’s Farnborough International Airshow air display features also a UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) demo: a Tekever AR4 Light Ray drone.

The mini-UAS is hand-launched by a team, then silently circles over the airport and then finally lands at the end of the short demo flight.

However, the air display on Jul. 9 had an unexpected end: although it gently landed on the grass next to the main runway as the Malaysian Airlines Airbus 380 prepared for take off, the UAS broke into three parts.

Meant to be carried in backpack by ground troops needing tactical assistance, the drone can be assembled and disassabled quickly. This might be the cause for the seemingly structural collapse.

Noteworthy, the Light Ray was brought to the show to give people the opportunity to see a drone at work: although they are flying for several years most spectators have never seen one actually flying.

For sure just a few of them noticed the “crash landing”.

Farnborough 2012 Photo: Malaysian Airlines Airbus 380 impressive flying display among the clouds (theaviationist.com)

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

Ricardo Mendes says:

July 9, 2012 at 4:54 PM

Hi David,
Just to clarify: the AR4 is designed to disassemble at landing, having several mechanical fuses in the tail, wings and payload to ensure the proper energy dissipation. The parts are left unharmed and can then be easily reassembled.
In sum, the “crash” is by design :)

Cheers,
Ricardo Mendes
TEKEVER
- David Cenciotti says:
  
  July 9, 2012 at 7:24 PM
  
  Thanks Ricardo.
  Indeed, I wrote that it could be considered a “collapse” by design given that the drone can be easily reassembled.
Jeroen van Veenendaal says:

July 9, 2012 at 11:34 PM

Yes, like the Raven it’s designed to absorb the impact by breaking into three pieces. It can be assembled in a few seconds after landing. The Raven was displayed a few years ago on a RNLAF open dag. http://youtu.be/AbZ5MJcLtgY