Our flight tests

© Eric Feron and MIT
  • Our first flight test in July 2000. Double-click on the picture to get the movie going again.
  • This is the movie of a remotely controlled, manual flight test aimed at recording acrobatic helicopter maneuvers for modeling purposes. Our machine is fully instrumented with IMU, GPS, altimeter, all stored in a 6.5 lbs aluminium box hanging under the machine.
  • In this movie, the ~18 lbs (fully loaded) helicopter performs a loop, one of the numerous maneuvers that are executable by this type of machines. The rotor can be loaded negatively. These maneuvers are stored and processed for modeling purposes.
  • This project is funded by Draper Laboratory , the Office of Naval Research , the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency .