14 DAY TRIAL // The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at the Edwards Air Force Base, in California, was on June 1st host to the first autonomous flight carried out by the Boeing Company's new unmanned aerial system (UAS), the Phantom Ray.
The vehicle managed to fly by itself for 28 minutes, before landing (with some difficulty) on its designated runway. It traveled at a cruising speed of 62 knots, and it was able to reach an altitude of 4,080 feet (1,243 meters). Remarkably, this aircraft is powered by liquid hydrogen.
“This flight puts Boeing on a path to accomplish another aerospace first – the capability of four days of unrefueled, autonomous flight,” said the president of Boeing Phantom Works, Darryl Davis.
Boeing engineers are currently looking over the data the Phantom Ray produced, in anticipation of another test flight. The vehicle sustained some damage while landing, but should be back up and running in no time.