Powertrain

Dossier

H3X HPDG-30 hybrid

The company H3X is an aerospace-focused e-powertrain developer and manufacturer, which was founded in 2020 primarily out of a desire to take on a challenge set (unofficially) by the US’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) in 2019...

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Propellers

Serious manufacturers of certifiable uncrewed aircraft are growing relentlessly in number, not only thanks to defence industries expanding their activities in response to (hopefully) short-term conflicts, but also because of the upcoming...

Dossier

Edge Performance ThrustVik X3 & X5

BRP-Rotax is a trusted name in engines, not only across UAVs but also motorsport and general aviation (GA), but a variety of companies have long offered improved versions of (or performance upgrade kits for) Rotax engines...

Dossier

Jetoptera FTC-250

Around seven to 10 years ago, the aviation industry experienced rapid growth in the number of new eVTOL and eSTOL aircraft companies, each making bold claims over what their electric air vehicles could accomplish entirely on...

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Electric motors

In the uncrewed space today, electric motors are essential to a growing majority of vehicles’ propulsion, whether as VTOL rotors, starter-generators or otherwise. However, movements and happenings in electric motor r&d are marked...

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Wankel Aviation 350 & 500 cc rotary engines

Wankel Aviation is a German company based in the town of Cottbus, Brandenburg, founded in 2022 as a subsidiary of (and sharing locations with) Wankel SuperTec, which was founded in 2003. As of writing, Wankel Aviation has just eight...

Dossier

NEX Power 15 kW GenSet gas micro-generator

Located in the UK industrial powerhouse of Milton Keynes, NEX Power Ltd., formerly known as Samad Power, is a developer of gas microturbine-based technologies. The company had its genesis at Cranfield University (the birthplace of many...

Dossier

Groupe Danielson Trident 100 TD2 turbodiesel

Just over 10 years ago, we featured Groupe Danielson’s Trident 100 TD2 engine, a 1.1 L, inline three-cylinder turbodiesel designed specifically for the UAV market. Since the company’s 2014 public launch of the Trident series of engines at AUVSI Xponential...

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ECUs

It wasn’t so long ago that suppliers of ECUs and other control electronics solutions were in something of a tight spot. Pre-COVID ramp-ups in their customers’ production targets had filled ECU makers’ books with contracts, but the sudden freezes that happened...

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Motor controllers

Until around ten years ago, manufacturers of electric drones were generally stuck with using hobby-grade ESCs (electronic speed controllers) for control of their electric motors. Such low-quality components frequently suffered from issues such as poor transient...