NW-88
Proving the reliability and performance of engines designed for UAS requires many thousands of hours of testing , which is done in house by Northwest UAV on the company ’ s own testing apparatus .
According to Ratcliffe , the traditional approach to UAS propulsion systems incorporates a perverse incentive . “ Right now , if a platform that incorporates a propulsion system from one of our competitors crashes due to engine failure , they get to sell the customer another engine . For us , it ’ s the exact opposite ; we profit when our engines last as long as possible .”
Essential to the success of Northwest UAV ’ s approach is that its engines , the NW-44 and NW-88 , are a good fit for the demands of aircraft designers — and their customers .
“ The NW-44 is aimed at a 55-pound UAV ,” Ratcliffe said .
“ Not coincidentally , I think that 55 pounds is about the minimum for a long-endurance platform that can carry one military-grade sensor — full-motion video with synthetic aperture radar or thermal imaging , for example .”
The NW-88 , according to Ratcliffe , is well suited for a platform weighing about 120 pounds and designed for two systems , such as a pair of sensor packages , or a sensor plus a communications relay or electronic warfare system .
30 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS