Bell Helicopter has completed trials of the APT 70 cargo tail sitter, a vertical take-off winged drone. Testing was carried out for the first time beyond operator visibility.
The test flight took place at the Choctaw test site in Oklahoma. For the first time, a drone flew beyond the line of sight of the operator. He flew about 16 km,
reports Popular Mechanics.
It is reported that the tailsitter, in addition to the aforementioned flight, flew with a load of 27.2 kg for approximately 29 km. In general, at the moment, the APT 70 has already completed approximately 120 flights.
Bell Helicopter began developing the drone in 2018. The aircraft consists of four aircraft fuselages, which are interconnected by two wings and two stabilizers. The device is equipped with a cargo compartment, in which it can carry goods weighing up to 31.8 kg.
APT 70 can perform vertical take-off and landing, go into horizontal flight.
OXO recently wrote about the first test flight
drone PHASA-35. The long battery life will allow the device to be in the air for about a year.