Advertisements

Aviation / Aerospace

Vanilla Aircraft VA001

Ultra-Long-Endurance Unmanned Aircraft [ 2015 ]

The 475lb Vanilla VA001 ultra-long-endurance UAV has managed a flight lasting 121.4 hours during October 2017.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 01/10/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image from official Vanilla Aircraft marketing materials.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

Advertisements

The next logical step in the world of unmanned aircraft is endurance but this typically requires larger, more expensive aircraft to accomplish the task. For years, designs have been entered into the field to broaden unmanned aircraft range capabilities and there have been both successes and failures. One potential groundbreaking candidate is the Vanilla Aircraft VA001 Unmanned Air System (UAS) which recorded its first-flight back in February of 2015 and continues in development today (2017). The aircraft was born from a five-person team in Falls Church, Virginia with the purpose of building economically-minded, compact design to haul payloads over very-long-distances.

The VA001 is categorized as a mid-sized UAS and features an efficient diesel-fueled engine driving a propeller unit in a "pusher" configuration. The aircraft sports straight, high-mounted mainplanes to achieve desired lift-versus-drag balance and its fuselage shape is akin to a tear drop for aerodynamic efficiency. The outer panels of the mainplanes are upturned. Overall wingspan measures 36 feet. The tail unit is made up of a single vertical fin with the horizontal plane set high.

The 475lb VA001's can carry a payload of up to 30lb. It lands without an undercarriage, coming down on its belly before rolling to a complete stop. The propeller unit at the rear of the body collapses so as not to incur damage during the action.©MilitaryFactory.com

Advertisements

As development of the VA001 is ongoing, engineers will continue to push the boundaries of this intriguing aircraft. As it stands, the aircraft can fly for up to ten days under quiet operation at altitudes of 15,000 feet and speeds up to 75 knots. It can loiter (under autopilot) in orbit while traveling at around 55 knots.

In January of 2017, the Vanilla Aircraft crew claimed a World Record with a recorded unrefueled 56-hour flight, the longest for an unmanned combustion-powered aircraft. Range restrictions and icing potential ended what was a planned 120-hour test flight.

In an October 2017 test flight involving NASA/DARPA, the VA001 completed a journey lasting 121 hours, 24 minutes - this covering some 7,000 miles. This showcases the aircraft's impressive inherent range capabilities and the system was still left with another three days of fuel in its onboard stores. The action marked broke the previous endurance record for longest unmanned internal combustion-powered flight.

The VA001 certainly has commercial and military implications and is especially of interest to both for its low cost function and impressive performance. In the latter, the product is seen as a potential support system at the platoon level where it can be used for long-endurance reconnaissance as well as modest-sized cargo delivery.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications

Service Year

2015

Origin

United States

Status

RETIRED
In Limited Service.

Crew

0
UNMANNED

Production

1
UNITS

Vanilla Aircraft / DARPA - USA

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

United States

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

✓ X-Plane (Developmental, Prototype, Technology Demonstrator)
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.

✓ Unmanned Capability
Aircraft inherently designed (or later developed) with an unmanned capability to cover a variety of over-battlefield roles.

Installed: 1 x Diesel engine unit driving a propeller in pusher configuration.

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base Vanilla Aircraft VA001 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

None. Approximately 30lb payload capability and support for various sensors.

Supported Types

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Hardpoint Mountings: 0

VA001 - Base Series Designation

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Images Gallery

1 / 1

Image from official Vanilla Aircraft marketing materials.

Advertisements

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2023 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons.

View day-by-day actions of the American Civil War with CivilWarTimeline.net. View day-by-day actions of World War II with SecondWorldWarHistory.com.

©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)