The flight, planned as a 120-hour mission, was ended early due to forecasted severe icing and range restrictions. However, the airplane landed with enough fuel on board for an additional 90 hours of flying.
“This effort represents tremendous and unprecedented coordination among civil, defence, academic, and private industry to bring a heretofore only imagined capability to reality,” said Vanilla Aircraft CEO Rear Adm. Timothy Heely (ret.).
The flight was supported by the Department of Defence’s Rapid Reaction Technology Office and DARPA-funded efforts through Naval Air System Command (NAVAIR).
Taking off and landing at Las Cruces International Airport in New Mexico, the airplane carried 9kg of actual and simulated payload, flying at 6,500 to 7,500 feet above mean sea level. According to Vanilla this was another step towards the VA001’s objective of carrying a 13.5kg payload for 10 days at an altitude of 15,000 feet.
The payload included a NAVAIR-provided relay and operated continuously throughout the flight to demonstrate functionality out to the maximum range. The airplane also carried a NASA-provided multispectral imaging payload as a demonstration of Earth science and agricultural remote sensing.
Co-founder and chief engineer Neil Boertlein said: “The VA001 has transformational potential, providing a scalable aerial system solution without increasing personnel or operating costs. The ability of a low-cost platform to provide persistent surveillance, battlefield pattern of life, or aerial mesh network relay, in a responsive and robust manner, and without forward basing, does not currently exist.”
Vanilla Aircraft is also planning a role for the VA001 in commercial applications, especially in agriculture where it would provide a cost-effective option for widespread and regular low-level surveying. Vanilla is currently exploring strategic partnerships and equity financing to expand into this market.
