flitetest

Latest

  • Watch a drone take off from a flying aircraft carrier

    by 
    Jon Fingas
    Jon Fingas
    11.05.2014

    The Avengers would be proud. Not content with simply flying drones, enthusiasts at Flite Test have built a remote-controlled helicarrier that can serve as a runway for smaller unmanned aircraft -- yes, it's a drone launching other drones. The example you see in the brief video below is crude and won't handle more than modestly-sized vehicles, but it's enough to show that the concept works. It's easy to see well-heeled hobbyists (and the military, for that matter) refining the concept to boost the maximum altitudes and ranges of robotic vehicles that would normally have to take off from terra firma.