Unmanned Tiltrotor Conducts Maiden Flight

An unmanned tiltrotor has entered a new testing stage by performing its maiden flight.

The aircraft was created by VR-Technologies, part of Russian Helicopters, and the company says it has already attracted interest from a number of oil and gas companies as well as various government agencies.

"The development of the unique aircraft started in 2015. Since then, we have achieved significant results and have already started the first stage of flight tests," said the CEO of VR-Technologies Alexander Okhonko.

The unmanned aircraft is suitable for tasks related to monitoring and environmental control in areas with no possibility to use air strips. The aircraft can maintain smoke control in forests and restrained urban conditions, make aerial photographs, conduct monitoring of oil and gas facilities, and transport medical supplies to hard-to-reach areas.

Tiltrotors are a special class of rotorcrafts that have a number of advantages over traditional aerial vehicles built up according to the airplane or helicopter schemes. They can make vertical takeoffs and landings on restricted landing pads while transporting passengers or cargo with greater speed and over longer distances than traditional helicopters.

Russian Helicopters performed the tests of the tiltrotor at Skolkovo Innovation Centre.

You can see an example of what a manned tiltrotor can do in the HD video on this page.

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