Unmanned aircraft could boost Arizona

State vying to host 1 of 6 test sites for FAA

Pilots are optional for a new breed of aircraft from Boeing Defense, Space & Security in Mesa.

The aerospace giant developed its Little Bird H-6U helicopter, an unmanned aerial vehicle or drone, at its Mesa plant. The unmanned aircraft completed 14 takeoffs and landings from a ship off the Florida coast last year.

Boeing also has a partnership with Schiebel Aircraft Industries of Austria to modify a smaller unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV. That rotor aircraft, the Camcopter S-100, weighs 243 pounds and can fly for six hours carrying a 75-pound payload.

The focus for Boeing’s two UAVs has primarily been on military operations to carry cargo to the battlefield, but there is growing interest in the commercial sector.

“Boeing is looking to see where our capabilities best fit with both the military and commercial needs that are out there,” said James Brooks, Boeing director of its unmanned- age power lines with an attached thermal-imaging camera.

The Camcopter, at 10 feet long and with a rotor diameter of 11 feet, is small enough to fit into a standard garage. The remotely controlled aircraft with a 55 horsepower engine has a top speed of about 103 mph. Its maximum payload is 110 pounds.

Boeing’s unmanned Little Bird, a variation of Boeing’s MD 500 helicopter, can carry up to 2,400 pounds. Its rotor is 27.5 feet in diameter and the UAV has a top speed of about 165 mph.

The Little Bird can fly with or without a pilot in the cockpit, which makes it ideal to train pilots or test UAV technology, according to Boeing.

The medium-class helicopter is designed to resupply troops from a land or ship base, Brooks said.

Boeing has also developed the ScanEagle, a 4-foot-long UAV that can fly for 15 hours, and Phantom Eye, an unmanned aircraft with a 150-foot wingspan and powered with liquid hydrogen.

Overall, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $33 billion business with 59,000 employees.