Airship maker reaches ‘technical milestone’

Involved with their production and operation at UAV’s Wewa facility are, from left, Kyle Coates, owner of Environmental Manufacturing and Supply Inc. in Bonifay, that made the engine mounts; UAV’s CEO Mike Lawson and wife Debbie, who handles communications; AIG’s Maceo Remy; grounds crew Damien Van Dyke, head seamstress Teresa Robinson, and grounds crew Rodney Hatcher, Deunta Gaddis and Wesley Eubanks. [ David Adlerstein | The Star ]

Kyle Coates, owner of Environmental Manufacturing and Supply Inc. in Bonifay, stands with one of the lightweight engine mounts that EMSI made for UAV as a subcontractor. [ David Adlerstein | The Star ]

The four Rotax 912is engines are attached to the DART by a ring of velcro straps. [ David Adlerstein | The Star ]

The UAV Corp.’s Wewahitchka facility, which has steadily advanced its operation in recent months through partnerships and financial streamlining, achieved “a technical milestone” last week with the successful completion of an inflation test of its DART SA-70 flagship lighter-than-air unmanned system.

At a closed-door event attended by local business leaders, the DART, which stands for Detachable Airship Retractable Tether stood in all its inflated glory, alongside a hangar full of equipment such as the T-Wing UAS, a next generation vertical takeoff drone made by partner Atlantic Industrial Group Inc.

Using advanced 3D printing, production on the first 8-foot box wingspan drone in Wewa is expected to begin within the next four to six weeks.

Also, early this summer, Skyborne Technology, a subsidiary of Wyoming-based UAV plans to complete the next phase of its testing, a weight balance analysis and live propulsion testing, that will enable UAV to make all the necessary adjustments before it becomes subject to approval by the FAA. 

That testing has been set to take place in the parking lot of the former Baptist Church, adjacent to the Cape San Blas lighthouse in downtown Port St. Joe. The DART is being prepared under a Special Airworthiness Certificate ahead of Phase I flight testing.

“This is more than a technical milestone, it’s a turning point,” said Michael Lawson, CEO of UAV Corp. “Today’s success affirms our vision for scalable, mission-driven airship technology and sets the stage for the next phase of testing and deployment. The SA-70 was envisioned as a transformative asset for agencies requiring persistent aerial presence in the harshest of environments. This success brings us one step closer to proving its value at scale.”

Lawson said the inflation test taught valuable lessons to UAV’s ground crew, and brought together big-money investors for a first-hand look at what’s envisioned for the Wewa facility.

“We were trying to deal with our investor core, three private (entities) who have signed letters of intent, as high as $50 million,” Lawson said. “That meeting was to decide which one to bring in.”

The upcoming weight balance analysis will feature all the elements of the DART brought together to pinpoint what’s gone right and what needs tweaking.

“It’s where we put equipment aboard the airship, the engines and flight deck,  and float it and insert helium,” Lawson said. “We’ll see what kind of changes are we going to have to make for flight. 

“When you go live you don’t want the thing rolling forward, you want it equal. It gives you an exact weight to equalize it, and is a test of the inner envelope, for potential leaks,” he said. “I see ourselves in the air in June.”

In addition to examining first hand the four Rotax 912is engines that will move the seven-stories-high DART directionally, and with a future transition plan to hybrid-electric or hydrogen fuel cell systems, attendees got to view videos of the company as well as models, both actual size and scaled-down of the AIG drones. Maceo Remy, AIG’s chief revenue officer, said plans are to begin with the unmanned T-Wing built here and eventually to ramp up to the six-to-eight passenger manned model.

“They are moving everything down here,” said Lawson. “We have a problem, though. Right now we don’t have enough space.”

The company is setting its sights on success at an October business fair, the GEMTECH Forum, at the Arena Riyadh venue, a premier Saudi Arabian aerospace event that brings together over 4,000 business attendees, more than 50 speakers, and more than 75 exhibitors to showcase its cutting-edge technology.

“The management team continues to engage with partners across South, Central America and Africa, while strategically aligning with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 as part of its global expansion strategy,” said the company in a news release.

Hiring continues at the local facility, which include positions that range from ground crew to seamstresses, who stitch together the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene Dyneema that comprises the skin of the airframe.