NASA Altair

[Dr Mordrid]

A modded Predator B set up to provide IR imaging for the US Forestry Service. Altair was used during the recent Esperanza wildfire, which was intentionally set.

Altair



IR images

[Fat Tone]

OT: That is THE wierdest-looking flying machine I have ever seen!

[Dr Mordrid]

You want weird?

http://www.markwilson.com/ioncraft/ioncraft.html

Video of testbed....

Patent: http://www.markwilson.com/ioncraft/Patent/patent.html

[Fluff]

How does it land? (NASA Altair) is it big?

[Dr Mordrid]

The Altair and MQ-9A Predator B Reaper's have really long landing gear to accommodate belly payloads & wing mounted weapons. Both as a whole are larger than the original RQ-1 Predator. Below is the Reaper with the gear down;



Specs for Altair/MQ-9A Predator B Reaper;

Basics: Low-wing monoplane with narrow fuselage and high aspect-ratio wing, large V-shaped tail with ventral fin, rear-mounted turboprop or turbofan engine. Enlarged fuselage nose to accommodate various payloads. Retractable tricycle landing gear. Dual-redundant flight controls.

Weapons: Predator B — AGM-114 Hellfire II missile, AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missile, AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), GBU-12 laser-guided bomb, GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM).

Nasty for a robot, 'eh?

Wingspan: Predator B 001/002 — 64 feet; Altair — 86 feet (extensions).
Length: 34 feet.
Gross weight: Predator B — 6,400 lbs; Altair — 7,000 lbs.
Propulsion: Allied-Signal TPE-331-10T turboprop

For comparison here are the basics for the F-16 Falcon;

Length: 49 feet, 5 inches
Wingspan: 32 feet, 8 inches