Xinying UAV

Auspicious Hawk (Xiang-Ying or Xiangying, 祥鹰) II is a fixed-wing UAV in conventional layout with high-wing configuration and in addition to tricycle landing gear, a pair of skids is also part of landing gear. Propulsion is provided by a two-blade propeller driven by a tractor engine mounted in the nose.[1] Auspicious Hawk II is powered by methanol fuel. Specification:[2]

• Length (m): 1.956
• Wingspan (m): 2.71
• Payload (kg): 4
• Max take-off weight (kg): 12
• Cruise speed (km/hr): 60 – 120
• Normal operating altitude (m): 100 – 3000
• Endurance (hr): 1.5 – 2
• Max wind scale allowed for operation: 6
• Launch and recovery: taxi

In addition to those UAVs already in production, Xinying is also currently developing several other UAVs, and three of them have been revealed several time in a row at various exhibitions held in China since 2010, including Zhuhai Airshow, Beijing Airshow, and UAV Exhibitions held in Shanghai and Beijing.

One of the UAV currently under developed revealed at these exhibition is one with canards. This UAV takes a rather unusual layout in that at first glance, it appears to be in a slightly altered conventional layout with a small T-tail and tricycle landing gear, but there are a pair of canards mounted on the fuselage near the nose cone. This UAV also adopts a swept wing design, a rear occasion among Chinese UAVs. In addition, there are also winglets on the swept wing, but the winglets are not located at the wing tips as in most aircraft, but instead, near the wing tips. Very little information is further released since it is still under development. [3]

Another UAV currently being developed by Xinying and revealed together with the one with canards is more of traditional design, and this UAV has delta wings with twin tails and tricycle landing gear, but without tailplanes. There is not any propeller shown on the model shown at the exhibition, indicating that this UAV might be jet-powered, but none of models shown has any inlets. The staff of the developer at these exhibitions has claimed that the UAV can be powered by various power plants, including both propeller and jet, so if it is propeller-driven, it is likely to be in pusher configuration.[3]

The third UAV currently under development by Xinying is an experimental UAV and it is a quadcopter. What is unusual about this UAV is that it does not follow the traditional quadcopter design of four arms extending from the center and each with a rotor at the end of arm furthest from the center. Instead, the quadcopter has a fuselage attached with four ducted fans, with two on each side of the fuselage. Each ducted fan houses a two-blade rotor. The fuselage does not have any wings attach to it, but is does have a vertical rudder attached to the empennage.[3]

Sky Soar III is a fixed-wing UAV in conventional layout with high-wing configuration and tricycle landing gear. Propulsion is provided by a two-blade propeller driven by a tractor engine mounted in the nose. Sky Soar III resembles a scaled-down version of Cessna 180 without struts supporting the wing.[4] Cessna aircraft is one of the most proliferated general aviation aircraft in the world which Sky Soar III is modeled after for application in training of both air and ground crew for positive identification of approaching aircraft, in addition to the usual aerial survey / photography missions of UAV. Specification:[5]

• Length (m): 1.7
• Wingspan (m): 2.3
• Payload (kg): 2
• Max take-off weight (kg): 11
• Cruise speed (km/hr): 60 – 120
• Normal operating altitude (m): 100 – 3000
• Endurance (hr): 1.5 – 2
• Max wind scale allowed for operation: 6
• Launch and recovery: taxi

List of unmanned aerial vehicles of the People's Republic of China