The "Spirit" Freewing Tilt-Boom UAV
The Tilt-Boom technology was conceived by inventor and Company founder Tom Sash. The invention followed years of research and experimentation wherein Mr. Sash sought to increase flight efficiencies and solve the problem of transitioning from vertical to horizontal flight. The research culminated in the filing of the first Tilt-Boom patent in 2002.
Construction began on the first three instrumented "Spirit" prototypes (9' wingspan) in June 2002, and testing began in early 2003.
The Spirit aircraft also takes advantage of more than 1,000 hours of flight testing and wind tunnel testing of freewing tilt-body aircraft -- an earlier generation of freewing vehicles developed by a predecessor company. Certain of those key employees remain associated with the new company, Freewing Flight Technologies, Inc.
The floating wing concept, called the freewing, was first flown by George Spratt in 1942. The Tilt-Boom concept introduces a unique form of thrust-vectoring that creates a fundamentally new form of flight, an aircraft that is stable in all flight modes -- from full hover through high-speed horizontal flight -- even during transitions.
We are proud to introduce this unique, breakthrough-technology in the Spirit UAV!
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