Hood River, OR, October 08, 2019 –(PR.com)– FLARES 2.0, Hood Tech’s “Flying Launch and Recovery System” has accumulated 106 consecutive flights with a perfect safety record, in 2019. Dating back to January of 2019, Hood Tech staff has torture-tested the system in wind gusts to 30mph, at density altitude of 9,600 feet, and in desert heat exceeding 100F.

The simplified controls resemble that of a modern forklift, and the evolved system achieves robustness through redundancy, and design margins.

For example, the multicopter hovers at 58% throttle while carrying an 85-pound aircraft at 9,600 feet density altitude. A typical launch mission discharges the batteries to about 80%, and the motors draw 22% of their rated current.

The most recent series of flight tests involved seven launches and seven recoveries of a battery powered fixed-wing aircraft operating above tree-height. Launch-release took place at 300 feet above ground level (AGL) and capture height was as high as 191 feet AGL.

See video here: https://vimeo.com/362829249/01cea7c882

Customer demand for launch and recovery systems having a dramatically reduced footprint and which can operate from small clearings in the forest, are driving the small unmanned air vehicle (UAV) market to pursue vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) configuration. FLARES achieves VTOL operations without compromising the payload and endurance capabilities of the long endurance fixed-wing aircraft.