Boeing's Heliwing aerial vehicle (UAV) had its first flight on 26 April, lifting off and hovering for several minutes at 10 ft (3m) at Boeing's test site in Moses Lake, Washington. The tail-sitter air vehicle has a fixed-wing and a pair of 2m-diameter counter-rotating propellers coupled to a 30kW (40shp) Williams International WTS-117 turbine engine. It has a wingspan of 5.2m and a length of 2.4m.
Israel Aircraft Industries set an unofficial endurance record, when its Heron UAV successfully completed a 51h 20min flight, while carrying a 200kg payload. The vehicle recently flew at over 32,000ft.
Source: Flight International
