Unmanned aviation has its own technical challenges that need to be overcomed steadily. Especially when it comes to solutions that do not have huge capital behind them. Ensuring the flight efficiency of drones to extend their endurance in the air is just one of them. The more efficient an aircraft is, the lighter it can be thanks to the need for fewer batteries, opening up a lot of room for what to use that saved weight for.
The cooperation between National Formosa University and CTU Faculty of Transportation Sciences was established in the last twelve months and culminated in a series of test flights, culminating in a flight that broke the Czech and Taiwanese record for the endurance of an unmanned aircraft in the air. The eighteen-day event required a significant logistical commitment. The drone itself was constructed in Taiwan, and at the end of June it had to be transported to the Czech Republic, where facilities were already prepared and test sites secured. The advantage of conducting the test flight in the Czech Republic is the stability of the weather, which is significantly better here. The disadvantage is the complexity of the regulation of unmanned aviation, which required obtaining a large number of approvals and authorisations to carry out the flights.
Testing in the Czech Republic started on Saturday 29 June 2024 with verification of the technique and calibration to Czech conditions. On 5 July 2024, the first test followed with a launch in the early hours, but due to a technical failure the test had to be terminated after 14 hours. The record attempt took place on 9 and 10 July 2024, when all the equipment worked perfectly and the value of 25 hours and 53 minutes of continuous flight was achieved. If it had not been for the delayed take-off due to necessary repairs after the first failed take-off, which required a delay of more than 3 hours, the 30-hour mark could have been expected.
At 25 hours and 53 minutes, the Taiwanese record of 21 hours 30 minutes set by Moonflyer in June 2022 was broken, as was the Czech record of 15 hours 20 minutes set in 2020 by Primoco model 150.