Fixed wing drones have advantages \u2013 even though rotary-wing craft are in the spotlight these days.\u00a0 Your editor recently saw two quadrotors in a few days: one at a state park, its operators capturing the weekend crowd ogling a spectacular waterfall; and the second at a wedding, photographically memorializing a happy event.<\/p>\n
Given the increasing capabilities of civilian drones like those, one wonders where the military and government agencies, without the budget constraints of the average private citizen, can take this trend.\u00a0 John Brown, President and CEO of Silent Falcon<\/a>, was on hand at the 10th<\/sup> annual Electric Aircraft Symposium held in the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront hotel.\u00a0 His talk explained the array of hardware, software and unique uses for the 14.4-foot wingspan flyer.<\/p>\n Originally conceived by George Bye as part of Bye Aerospace, the airplane spun off into Silent Falcon UAS Technologies, and is now rebranded with a new logo and web site.<\/p>\n Small and quiet enough to avoid detection even when passing overhead, yet large enough to carry a three kilogram (6.6 pound) payload that can fit into its 230-mm-(9 inches) long, 140-mm-(5.5 inches) wide and 200-mm-(8 inches) deep cargo bay, the Silent Falcon can perform a variety of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions.<\/p>\n Payloads can include four different electro-optical\/infrared (EO\/IR) sensors, which can offer enhanced visualization in the visible and invisible light spectra; a gas imaging Midwave Infrared (MWIR) camera. a hyperspectral camera, spectrometer, and three different mapping payloads.<\/p>\n