Schiebel announced the first flight of a heavy-fuel powered CAMCOPTER® S-100 UAS (Unmanned Air System). The flexibility this engine provides will further add to the wide capabilities of the unmanned helicopter.

After extensive development, the S-100 successfully made its maiden flight with the new heavy fuel engine at Schiebel's range near the production facility in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. The Schiebel-designed engine fulfilled all expectations and series deliveries are scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Typical for the innovative and advanced design of Schiebel products, the heavy fuel engine provides customers with the ability to use JP-5 (F-44), Jet A-1 (F-35) and JP-8 (F-34). This is a flexibility that is not available in other tactical VTOL UAS.

“Schiebel has continuously raised the bar for manufacturers serving the UAS industry. We listen to our customers, and then we build the features they ask for,” said Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group.

“The new fuel options will be a big advantage to all our customers worldwide across all markets, offering them even more flexibility,” he added.

The basic power plant of the CAMCOPTER® S-100 is a Wankel-type (rotary piston) engine, which runs on 100 octane-grade avgas (aviation gasoline) and is rated at 50 HP. Recent engineering developments have led to the gasoline version of the engine being certified to operate on 95 octane lead-free petrol without loss of power.

The new heavy fuel engine is fully interchangeable with the current engine and upgrade is possible by just replacing the core engine with some accessories of similar specifications and flight performance. In offering lower logistic effort and supporting the single-fuel concept that requires using only one fuel while deployed, this new engine is ideal for maritime applications.