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21 Apr 17. Oxai Aircraft Nearing First Flight for M2 Amphibian. After introducing its M2 Skywave amphibious airplane at ABACE last year, Oxai Aircraft returned to this year’s iteration of the show with certification plans firmly in place. Water testing will begin next week, and first flight of the M2 should take place in about two months, said Oxai chief designer, president and CEO Roger Mao.
He expects that the airplane will receive CAAC type design approval this year in a framework similar to U.S.light sport aircraft ASTM F2245 standards compliance.
The amphibious M2 has an all-composite airframe and it is powered by a 100-hp Rotax 912iS. Avionics are dual Garmin G3X Touch displays with a Garmin G5 attitude indicator as backup. Oxai has orders for 47 M2s so far. “People are very excited and push me for when they can test fly it,” said Mao.
Meanwhile, the Shanghai-based company also brought its Mozi solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to ABACE, displaying it during the “International Solar-powered Aircraft Development” forum, which Oxai and local science and engineering organizations co-hosted on Monday.
The Mozi UAV was developed by Oxai and Shanghai Science & Technology Committee and achieved first flight on Dec. 9, 2016. The solar forum featured Mao; Eric Raymond, who designed and flies the solar-powered Sunseeker motorgliders; Canlong Sun, vice president of Lingang Science and Technology Innovation City Economic Development; and local engineers and researchers. (Source: UAS VISION/AIN Online)
20 Apr 17. MMEA conducts trials of Fulmar UAV from first-of-class NGPC. Key Points:
• The Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency has successfully completed first at-sea trials of the Fulmar UAV system
• The service is on track to operationalise its first UAV-capable patrol vessel in 2017
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has conducted at-sea trials of the Thales Fulmar fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from the first of its New Generation Patrol Craft (NGPC), a service official confirmed with Jane’s on 20 April.
The trials, which were conducted from KM Bagan Datuk (4541), took place over a period of about two weeks in early April 2017. Procedures that were conducted in the trials included launching and recovering the UAV under various ship operational conditions and wind speed, and training its crew in procedures to retrieve the UAV from the water should there be a failure in onboard recovery efforts.
The NGPC platform features a 3.5 m by 0.5 m catapult based launcher, situated just behind the position of its primary weapon – the SMASH 30 mm remote controlled stabilised naval gun system from Turkish defence company Aselsan. To retrieve the fixed wing UAV under normal operating conditions, the NGPC utilises a net-based impact-absorbing system deployed on the deck behind the bridge.
The Fulmar UAV features a wingspan of 3 m and a length of 1.2 m. It can operate at altitudes of up to 4,000 m (13,000 ft), and can carry a payload of up to 8 kg. According a Thales España official who spoke to Jane’s at the DSA 2016 exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, the Fulmar UAV in MMEA configuration will each carry one high-resolution video camera that allows for automatic target tracking via operator consoles located either onboard the ship, or in a ground control station. The MMEA is currently in the process of receiving six new 44 m NGPCs from Malaysian company Desini Shipbuilding. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
19 Apr 17. Valmie (VMRI) Plans Aircraft Roll-out at XPONENTIAL as UAV Industry Surges. Valmie Resources Inc. (OTCBB:VMRI) announces it will unveil the newest in its line of aircraft at AUVSI’s (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International) XPONENTIAL 2017, the largest trade show for the booming unmanned systems and robotics sector.
Valmie will be incorpora