Darren QuickZephyr UAV continues to break records on first authorized civil flight

The Zephyr has become the first High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) system to complete a flight authorized by a civil authority

The solar-powered, high-altitude long endurance (HALE) UAV previously known as the Qinetiq Zephyr, which is now part of the Airbus High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) program and called the Airbus Zephyr, has continued its record-breaking ways in its first civil flight in the skies over Dubai earlier this month.

Having set three world records in a 2010 flight, including the record for the longest endurance flight for an unmanned aircraft of 336 hours, 22 minutes and 8 seconds, the Zephyr has now set a record of 61,696 ft (18,805 m) for the highest altitude reached in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), along with the longest flight in the UAE with the test flight lasting 23 hours and 47 minutes.

But it is not the latest altitude and endurance records that are the most notable aspects of the flight, but the fact it marked the first time a HAPS flight has been authorized by a civil authority: in this case, the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA). The flight started at 6:31 am local time on September 11 with the Zephyr taking off from the Margham area of Dubai and completing a full day/night cycle of operation close to one of the three busiest airports in the world without affecting civil air traffic, before landing back in Dubai at 6:18 am on September 12.

The team responsible for the test flight included engineers from the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST), which has partnered with Airbus Defence & Space to jointly develop the HAPS system. The two groups came together in March of this year to prepare the demonstration model Zephyr, which ended up weighing 34 kg (75 lb) and boasted a wingspan of 18 m (59 ft).

"The flight in Dubai demonstrated the ability of Zephyr to operate in regions of the world’s most crowded airspaces," said Chris Kelleher, Technical Director of the Airbus HAPS program. ”I am immensely grateful for the support and diligence of the Dubai CAA and other authorities in working closely with the combined EIAST Airbus Team to ensure a safe and successful stratospheric flight. With all systems working well in temperatures ranging between +40° C and -80° C (104° F and -112° F) and up to a maximum altitude of 61,696 ft, this flight further reinforces confidence in Zephyr for users and regulators."

With the ability to fly in the stratosphere, the Zephyr combines the benefits of a satellite in terms of altitude and applications, and an aircraft in terms of re-usability, flexibility and coverage.

The EIAST/Airbus team is targeting various applications for the aircraft, including thermal imaging, Full HD video imaging, environmental monitoring, emergency services support, the creation of temporary communications networks and the enhancement of navigation systems. The test flight saw the Zephyr equipped with a Full-HD video payload boasting 30 times zooming capability and providing imaging resolution of around 10 cm (4 in), depending on altitude.

The program will now move into the second phase, which is due to be completed in 2016 and will involve the development of the first generation of the HAPS aircraft that is projected to go into operation by the end of that year.

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Zephyr無(wú)人機(jī)不斷打破記錄的民間授權(quán)飛行器 戴倫無(wú)人機(jī)不斷突破第一次授權(quán)的民間

西風(fēng)已經(jīng)成為第一個(gè)高海拔的偽衛(wèi)星（HAPS）系統(tǒng)完成由民間權(quán)威

太陽(yáng)能、高空長(zhǎng)航時(shí)（黑爾）無(wú)人機(jī)以前稱為澤弗，它現(xiàn)在是空客高空偽衛(wèi)星部分（HAPS）程序，稱為空中客車的西風(fēng)，繼續(xù)其破紀(jì)錄的方式在其第一次航班在迪拜上空本月早些時(shí)候。

太陽(yáng)能高海拔長(zhǎng)航（HALE）無(wú)人機(jī)以前被稱為“QualeTiq ZePHR”，它現(xiàn)在是空中客車高海拔偽衛(wèi)星（HAPS）計(jì)劃的一部分，被稱為空中客車ZePir，它在迪拜上空的第一次民用飛行中繼續(xù)打破破紀(jì)錄的方式。利比這個(gè)月。

但不是新的高度和耐力的記錄，是最顯著的一個(gè)方面的飛行，但事實(shí)上，它標(biāo)志著第一次航班已經(jīng)由國(guó)家研究局授權(quán)：在這種情況下，迪拜民用航空管理局（DCAA）。飛機(jī)開始在31是當(dāng)?shù)貢r(shí)間9月11日的西風(fēng)從迪拜的margham地區(qū)完成一整天的工作周期接近一個(gè)在世界上最繁忙的三個(gè)機(jī)場(chǎng)不影響民用航空交通，落地前回到迪拜，在9月12日上午6:18。

團(tuán)隊(duì)負(fù)責(zé)飛行測(cè)試包括工程師從酋長(zhǎng)制度的先進(jìn)的科學(xué)和技術(shù)（eiast），這已與空客防務(wù)&；空間共同開發(fā)的高空平臺(tái)通信系統(tǒng)。兩組一起在今年3月準(zhǔn)備演示模型和風(fēng)，最終重達(dá)34公斤（75磅）和吹噓翼展18 m（59英尺）。

”在迪拜的飛行表現(xiàn)和在世界上最擁擠的空域地區(qū)操作的能力，”克里斯說(shuō)凱萊赫，空中客車的HAPS項(xiàng)目技術(shù)總監(jiān)。“我非常感謝迪拜民航局和其他部門的支持和努力，聯(lián)合eiast空客團(tuán)隊(duì)以確保安全和成功的平流層飛行密切合作。與所有的系統(tǒng)工作在溫度介于40°C和80°C（104°F和112°F）和高達(dá)61696英尺的最大高度，該航班進(jìn)一步加強(qiáng)用戶和監(jiān)管者和信心。”

與在平流層飛行的能力，和風(fēng)結(jié)合的高度和應(yīng)用衛(wèi)星的好處，和飛機(jī)的可用性、靈活性和覆蓋。

的eiast /空客團(tuán)隊(duì)針對(duì)各種應(yīng)用的飛機(jī)，包括熱成像、全高清視頻成像、環(huán)境監(jiān)測(cè)、急救服務(wù)的支持，更臨時(shí)通信網(wǎng)絡(luò)與導(dǎo)航系統(tǒng)的增強(qiáng)。試驗(yàn)飛行看到和配備了全高清視頻擁有30倍變焦能力和有效載荷提供約10厘米的分辨率（4），根據(jù)高度。

程序現(xiàn)在將進(jìn)入第二階段，涉及研究飛機(jī)，預(yù)計(jì)投產(chǎn)到年底，第一代的發(fā)展。