It’s a drone world record!
As every drone pilot out there knows, battery life is a constant struggle, but could that be a problem of the past?
This is the news that the Spanish drone manufacturer, Quaternium, have recorded the longest flight ever performed by a self powered multi-rotor UAV. The flight was officially recorded on the 24th of December in Valencia, Spain,
The 4h 40 mins flight was performed by their HYBRiX.20 RPA, and sets the World Record of endurance for any kind of multi-rotor aircraft including Electric, Hybrid or Hydrogen.
Watch the full two and half minutes of footage below. We won’t blame you if you’re tempted to skip to the end… you’ll get the gist in the first 10 seconds.
Drone World Record
Credit: Quaternium Technologies (YouTube)
Whilst the video doesn’t give away much information, I’ve done the leg work for you here.
The HYBRiX.20 RPA boasts the use of hybrid technology to power this powerful drone. The HYBRiX.20 is a fuel-electric aircraft, primarily making use of an electric motor that is supported by an onboard two stroke engine to maintain charge during flight, extending it’s flight time well beyond other powered drones.
This innovation in flight time makes the HYBRiX.20 RPA ideal to tackle industries such as emergency response and industrial inspections that would require longer air support windows.
The founder of Quaternium, Jose Luis Cortes, is quoted as saying:
“Aerial monitoring is one of the main applications of HYBRiX.20. Quaternium team has developed a system configuration with an advanced camera that enables HYBRiX.20 to perform long-range observation missions”
From the below specs we can already foresee the huge potential of this drone in the future.
Source: Quaternium
This is no ordinary drone however. Here is an idea of it’s size:
Source: Quaternium Facebook
About: Quaternium
Quaternium‘s mission is to design the most advanced multi-rotor UAVs in the market. Quaternium combine experience and high tech to develop a disruptive product that aims to revolutionise the multi-copter field. With this ultimate innovation, flight duration is increased 6 times compared to existing alternatives.