Gizmo Lovers Blog » Phantom Eye http://www.gizmolovers.com TiVo, Slingbox, Android, Blu-ray Disc, and whatever other tech I feel like blogging about... Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:16:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 Boeing Phantom Eye In The Skyhttp://www.gizmolovers.com/2012/06/13/boeing-phantom-eye-in-the-sky/ http://www.gizmolovers.com/2012/06/13/boeing-phantom-eye-in-the-sky/#comments Wed, 13 Jun 2012 07:40:00 +0000 MegaZone http://www.gizmolovers.com/?p=9659 Continue reading →]]> Boeing Logo I covered the Boeing Phantom Eye long-endurance UAV back in March when it began taxi tests. Now the Phantom Eye has made it’s first flight, at Edwards Air Force Base in California, in a successful start to the flight test program. The Phantom Eye is a hydrogen-fueled UAV designed to operate at high altitude, up to 65,000 feet, for days on end. The demonstrator being tested is designed to remain aloft for up to four days, while the larger planned production model would have a ten day endurance. Fueled by hydrogen the Phantom Eye’s engines produce only water as a combustion byproduct, making it a very green aircraft. Here’s the first flight:

With that endurance at high altitude the Phantom Eye can provide persistent surveillance of an area – for disaster recovery, military operations, environmental monitoring, etc. It can also operate as a communications relay, a pseudolite or virtual cell tower to provide communications in an area where it is otherwise lacking. For example, it could handle cell phone communications in a disaster area where the cell phone towers have been knocked out, until normal coverage can be restored. With a payload of 2,000 pounds the production model will be a versatile craft.

]]> http://www.gizmolovers.com/2012/06/13/boeing-phantom-eye-in-the-sky/feed/ 0 The Boeing Phantom Eye UAV Begins Taxi Testshttp://www.gizmolovers.com/2012/03/14/the-boeing-phantom-eye-uav-begins-taxi-tests/ http://www.gizmolovers.com/2012/03/14/the-boeing-phantom-eye-uav-begins-taxi-tests/#comments Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:44:08 +0000 MegaZone http://www.gizmolovers.com/?p=9213 Continue reading →]]> Boeing Logo The design of the Boeing Phantom Eye UAV is definitely a case of form following function. It looks a bit strange and ungainly, and it has been a while since I’ve seen an aircraft designed to use a launch cradle, but it is all part of the mission. The Phantom Eye is designed for ultra-long-range, ultra-long-endurance flight, powered by two hydrogen fueled piston engines. It is a bit bulbous since it is pretty much a flying fuel tank for cryogenic hydrogen, which requires a sturdy, insulated pressure vessel. Using a launch cradle (it lands with a nose gear and a belly skid) eliminates the weight and complexity of landing gear; which is, after all, dead weight except during takeoff and landing. Every pound eliminated is a pound of payload, or increased endurance.

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