Located in McMinnville , Oregon , Northwest UAV is seeking to revolutionize , in a very literal sense , the development of DOD Group 3 platforms with its NW-44 and NW-88 multi-fuel engine designs . In this case , the revolution involves reversing the development process so it more closely resembles the engineering of manned aircraft , as well as an approach to operations that incentivizes operational reliability .
Jeff Ratcliffe is the chief technical officer for Northwest UAV , responsible for the overall development of the company ’ s NW-44 and NW-88 engines for Group 3 UAS .
Jeff Ratcliffe , the company ’ s chief technology officer , explains : “ Aviation has always done business a certain way ; engineers start with a propulsion system and they design the rest of the airframe around that . If you know how much it weighs , how much thrust it generates and where it will be placed , you are then able to determine the airframe ’ s aerodynamic properties . Also , because you know the engine ’ s rate of fuel consumption , you know how big to make the fuel tanks and where to place them .”
The NW-88 ( top left ) and NW-44 ( lower right ) on display in a conference room at Northwest UAV ’ s headquarters in McMinnville , Oregon .
This common sense approach to aircraft development has been absent from UAS engineering owing to a lack of COTS propulsion systems . According to Ratcliffe , the industry has been working backwards — designing the airframe first and hoping to find an existing engine that fits it . If there isn ’ t , the result can be a long and costly delay while a new engine is developed to fit the specifications of the aircraft .
“ What we ’ re doing is building COTS propulsion systems so that aircraft designers have specifications that they can rely on when they begin the development process ,” said Ratcliffe . “ We provide an interface control document that is very detailed and accurate , so they can build a successful aircraft .”
The overall goal is to push the development of unmanned systems toward manned aviation practices and standards . With this in mind Northwest UAV has achieved its certification as an AS9100 engineering , production and overhaul facility . The company not only looks at published standards to guide its work — it is also seeking to publish new standards based on its own work and experience . To this end , Ratcliff sits on the SAE E-39 subcommittee for UAS propulsion systems .
28 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS