Update – September 11, 2019

September 11, 2019

TEST PILOT FAMILIARIZATION ONGOING – September 11, 2019

Chief Test Pilot, Ron McElroy, continued his familiarization with the systems in the Switchblade, in order to be fully prepared once we do test flights.  Pictured above right, Ron is shown reviewing the turbo-charged exhaust system for the engine with Sam Bousfield. Like any professional, Ron gets familiar with the ‘tools’ he will be working with. In this fashion, he improves his ability to control the vehicle, and increases the already high degree of success we can expect. 

Ron has been making almost weekly visits to the hangar in Prineville, and we welcome the input that he and test pilot Len Fox have been able to give us. They are both extraordinary individuals, and we are honored to have them on the team.

The image above shows Ron becoming familiar with the electrical system of the test vehicle. Sean Bliss, right, is explaining how the two electrical systems work. Because we have a new fly-by-wire rudder system, we opted to have a dual-buss (two power supply) system, and the pilot can switch between the main buss and the secondary buss to power the Switchblade. He can also switch both on, and change the individual electrical components to be run by one or the other of the two power supplies, in case he needs to check for a failure of a buss or an individual component.

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