UAVOS has finished testing the new version of the main rotor blades that will be installed on unmanned helicopters that have a take-off mass of 50 kilograms and a rotor diameter of 2600 millimeters.

By gluing into the leading edge an all-metal edging, composite blades are improved, which has led to the improvement of the aerodynamic stability of the blade. Additionally, wear resistance has been increased during flights in severe weather conditions such as rain, snow and dust, which doubles the operating life of the product in the process.

“Rotor blade tips spin at near sound speeds. And any object, whether it be dust, sand, grass, snow, ice chips, insects, etc. at such speeds, destroys the leading edge,” explains UAVOS CEO Aliaksei Stratsilatau.

“The new design features upgrades resulting in improved performance envelope and reliability. This approach allows customers to run very lean maintenance programs that require only basic facilities.”

The result of deep technological improvement, UAVOS’ main rotor blade operates in a variety of tough conditions. The company notes that aerodynamic forces acting on it “bend, twist, pull apart, tend to tear off the shell,” so the blade has to be strong enough to “resist” the impact of aerodynamic forces. The blade also has to be light and immune to environmental influences.

The technology of hot molding of composite prepreg material, which is the technology of manufacturing the blade in a single press die operation, is used to make the UAVOS rotor blades. Since there is no glue line, this method rules out the delamination of the lower and upper planes. The strength and rigidity of the product is also increased as a result of the design including twisting and narrowing of the blade.

According to UAVOS, its manufacturing process allows for the creation of blades with high aerodynamic characteristics. This increases their durability, reduces production costs, improves the the flight technical parameters of an unmanned helicopter, and increases the reliability of flights in severe weather conditions.