It’s not often that an entirely new flying machine concept is invented, and it’s even rarer for a brand new idea to be given practical expression in a short period of time with tangible, real world benefits, yet that’s what VeraTech Aero has accomplished. This patented aircraft design may seem faintly reminiscent of the free flight powered blade designs from decades ago—or you may see a kinship to the boomerang or prehistoric battleaxe—but the Phantom Sentinel is fundamentally new. The first new flying machine design, arguably, in the better part of a century.
VeraTech Aero has developed a quiet and nearly invisible flying observation platform that can
hover,
close-in over a target area
without being detected.
VeraTech Aero notes that “the Phantom Series single blade rotorcraft has the ability to deliver close up, real time video intelligence within 75 feet of nearly any event and remain virtually undetectable to the human eye.”
This highly scaleable design will likely play an important role for the military, in the war against drugs and in other aerial surveillance applications.
The Phantom Sentinel has three arms; two are fuselage segments and one is an airfoiled blade, the only lift-generating arm. As it spins faster, the craft self-stabilizes and the center-mounted observation camera spins about a balance point that is inside the camera’s actual rotational orbit. The camera orbits around this point in space to allow a 360º scan that is assembled into a panoramic view.
FLIGHT PERFORMANCE
The Sentinel pierces the wind with ease given its low profile. The slightly different angles of attack of the two powered propellers mounted on two fuselage tips enable the pilot to control the attitude of the Sentinel in the pitch and roll axes. As with a helicopter blade, inputs are made 90º prior to the desired change.
The onboard camera uses technology akin to high speed bill-counting digital imaging. The imaging system can parse 360º of panorama into single images even at rotational speeds above 1,600 rpm. These images can be spliced together into a 360º panorama in real time, and segments or all of this can be viewed through virtual reality glasses. VeraTech notes that experiments with a second onboard camera pointing downward enables the viewer to see a “spherical panorama” or pie slices thereof.
The design has been successfully scaled up from two to ten feet. The four-pound Phantom Sentinel shown is powered by 2 to 4 1600mAh lithium polymer batteries and two brushless motors spinning any of a combination of props that are selected based upon payload and flight time requirements. It has a mission duration of 40 minutes (or longer while in a battery-efficient loitering hover mode) and can be launched by hand, from a canister or from an aircraft. The collapsible blade and fuse sections are made out of carbon fiber; antenna receiver areas are made out of fiberglass.
JOIN FORCES
Dean Tangren of VeraTech Aero noted to Fly RC that VeraTech Aero is seeking technology partners to further develop the aircraft’s maneuverability and flight performance. Interested parties should call Dean Tangren at (952) 941-0083.
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It’s not often that an entirely new flying machine concept is invented, and it’s even rarer for a brand new idea to be given practical expression in a short period of time with tangible, real world benefits, yet that’s what VeraTech Aero has accomplished. This patented aircraft design may seem faintly reminiscent of the free flight powered blade designs from decades ago—or you may see a kinship to the boomerang or prehistoric battleaxe—but the Phantom Sentinel is fundamentally new. The first new flying machine design, arguably, in the better part of a century.
