January 14 - 32 years after he set up Aeros, its ceo Igor Pasternak has confirmed that its Aeroscraft Heavy-Lift Air Vehicle has achieved its first lift-off, performed in an engineering hangar in Tustin, California, USA.
Pasternak says that this first float test principally demonstrated the unique lightweight rigid structure conception and Control of Static Heaviness (COSH) system. He added that that the first float test also met a key Aeroscraft performance goal: operate without ballast, ground infrastructure or handling.
Said Pasternak: "The first float of the vehicle was a controlled exercise during which all flight systems were operating. The procedure was completed successfully. "
A company statement said that aircraft experts and several U.S. agencies are betting that the Aeroscraft vehicle with its advanced technology capabilities will transform the transportation of large and heavy cargoes, supporting and altering any number of the world's equipment-dependent mega-projects and the industries that manage them - including wind energy, aerospace, petroleum, highway construction, engineering and telecommunications.
Funding and oversight of the Aeroscraft Project has been supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the US Defense Department Defiance's Rapid Reaction Technology Office, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Aeros says that the Aeroscraft vehicle was developed for over-sized freight transportation from point of origin to point of need, offering a flexible and efficient vertical takeoff air-lift freight solution for large cargoes bound across urban, remote, even ecologically sensitive locations.
To see footage of the first float click here: http://www.aeroscraft.com/#/video/4565658106
