watch the world's first hydraulic multicopter taking flight

flowcopter introduces world’s first hydraulic multicopter 

one of the main problems in the multicopter application is the ability to lift heavy loads. but it seems that scotland-based flowcopter has the solution. the company works on a heavy-lift drone in a bid to help helicopter operators optimize freight, surveying, as well as search and rescue operations. this project will run certified combustion engines, that will drive digital displacement pumps — designed for harsh environments — providing control bandwidth to fly. 

flowcopter is capable of flying for more than 6 hours, up to 900km. after a few minutes of refueling, it can continue its flight. hydraulic motors are totally sealed and made for extreme offshore environments. each of them weighs just 5.5 kg and costs less than 1K USD per piece. all images by flowcopter

as we see in the video, flowcopter (see more here) has built a rather more raw-looking prototype that performs tethered flight testing. regardless of its look, it seems to take off the ground — and that is considered a big achievement. as the company mentions on its website, ‘this product will offer a step-change in the capabilities of today’s heavy-lift drones in robustness, range, and payload.’

‘flowcopter was inspired by the RNLIs challenge to innovators: build a companion drone for offshore lifeboats. flowcopter is the only uav capable of meeting the extreme range and payload requirements in the offshore environment. we aim to extend the search window, and not only to spot people in the water, but also deploy a life raft to help.’

flowcopter is capable of lifting more payload than electric drones, and flies for longer. based on rugged off-road vehicle technology without high voltages, it can be easily and safely maintained without specialist facilities.

project info:

developed by: flowcopter