The Aerosonde is a small unmanned aerial vehicle

Unmanned aerial vehicle

An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...

 (UAV) designed to collect weather data, including temperature

Temperature

Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...

, atmospheric pressure

Atmospheric pressure

Atmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted into a surface by the weight of air above that surface in the atmosphere of Earth . In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point...

, humidity

Humidity

Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...

, and wind

Wind

Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...

 measurements, over oceans and remote areas. The Aerosonde was developed by Insitu

Insitu

Insitu, Inc. is an American company headquartered in Bingen, Washington that builds Unmanned aerial vehicles . On July 22, 2008, it was announced that Insitu would be acquired by long-time partner Boeing.-History:...

, and is now manufactured by Aerosonde Ltd

Aerosonde Ltd

Aerosonde Ltd is an Australian-based developer and manufacturer of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, including the Insitu Aerosonde series. The company has customers in Australia, Asia and North America who utilize its vehicles for reconnaissance and meteorological applications.The company gained...

, which is a strategic business of AAI Corporation

AAI Corporation

AAI Corporation is an aerospace and defense development and manufacturing firm in Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA. It is formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation, AAI was acquired by Textron in 2007 and currently is an operating unit of Textron Systems Corporation...

. The Aerosonde is powered by a modified Enya R120 model aircraft

Model aircraft

Model aircraft are flying or non-flying models of existing or imaginary aircraft using a variety of materials including plastic, diecast metal, polystyrene, balsa wood, foam and fibreglass...

 engine, and carries on board a small computer, meteorological instruments

Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...

, and a GPS

Global Positioning System

The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...

 receiver for navigation.
On August 21, 1998, a Phase 1 Aerosonde nicknamed "Laima

Laima

Laima was the personification of fate and luck in the Latvian and Lithuanian mythologies. She was associated with childbirth, marriage, and death; she was also the patron of pregnant women...

", after the ancient Latvian deity

Latvian mythology

Latvian culture, along with Lithuanian, is among the oldest surviving Indo-European cultures. Much of its symbolism is ancient. Its seasons, festivals, and numerous deities reflect the essential agrarian nature of Latvian tribal life...

 of good fortune, completed a 2,031 mile (3,270 km) flight across the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. This was the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by a UAV

Unmanned aerial vehicle

An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...

; at the time, it was also the smallest aircraft ever to cross the Atlantic http://www.aerovelco.com/papers/LaimaStory.pdf. (The smallest aircraft record was subsequently broken by the Spirit of Butts Farm UAV.) Launched from a roof rack of a moving car due to its lack of undercarriage, Laima flew from Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 to Benbecula, an island off the coast of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 in 26 hours 45 minutes in stormy weather, using approximately 1.5 U.S. gallons (1.25 imperial gallons or 5.7 litres) of gasoline. Other than for take-off and landing, the flight was autonomous, without external control, at an altitude of 5,500 ft (1,680 meters). Aerosondes have also been the first unmanned aircraft to penetrate tropical cyclones, with an initial mission in 2001 http://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/52113.pdf followed by eye penetrations in 2005 http://www.aerovelco.com/videos/TyphoonLongWang.wmv.

The Aereosonde Mark 4.4 has been desgnated XMQ-19A by the U.S. military.

General characteristics

• Crew: None
• Length: 5 ft 8 in (1.7 m)
• Wingspan: 9 ft 8 in (2.9 m)
• Height: 2 ft 0 in (0.60 m)
• Wing area: 6.1 ft² (0.57 m²)
• Empty: lb (kg)
• Loaded: 28.9 lb (13.1 kg)
• Maximum take-off: lb ( kg)
• Powerplant: Modified Enya R120 model aircraft
  Model aircraft
  Model aircraft are flying or non-flying models of existing or imaginary aircraft using a variety of materials including plastic, diecast metal, polystyrene, balsa wood, foam and fibreglass...
  
  engine, 1.74 hp (1280 W)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 90 mph (140 km/h)
• Range: 1,875 miles (3,000 km)
• Service ceiling: 15,000 ft (4,500 m)
• Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
• Wing loading: 5 lb/ft² (23 kg/m²)
• Power/Mass: 0.06 hp/lb (98 W/kg)

External links

• Aerosonde Pty Ltd. web site