MEDWAY AIRCRAFT PRESERVATION SOCIETY Ltd
We restore and preserve historic aircraft and artefacts for public display.
Patron: Her Majesty The Queen
Drone Projects
MAPSL has refurbished two Unpiloted Air Vehicles (more correctly Remotely Piloted Vehicles), generally known as "drones". They were developed for a variety of roles including surveillance, air, sea and land gunnery targets and as guided missiles. They were generally managed via a radio link, allowing control of the mission and return to base after completion, although parts of the mission and auto-stabilisation would be undertaken autonomously. Their relatively low cost meant that losses were not a major issue.
Click the link below for further details of each project.
Northrop Shelduck XR005 (XR898)
Developed by the Northrop Ventura Corporation, California, the SD-1 entered service with the United States Signal Corps in 1956. It was adopted by the British Army in 1961 (entitled Shelduck). Fitted with Infra-Red or television cameras or radiation detectors, it was used for all types of aerial reconnaissance. Its size and manoeuvrability gave minimum radar reflection and made it less susceptible to ground fire.
Although used principally by the army, the Northrop Drone also gave very useful service to the RAF. The Drone was utilised for target practice where it proved a very elusive target and also for radar testing and calibrations etc.
This example was presented to MAPSL in 1992 by 1404 Squadron (Chatham) Air Training Corps (RAF Air Cadets). It carried the registration XR005, but was later identified as XR898. The Drone was in poor condition and involved a considerable amount of research and even more refurbishment for the aircraft to reach museum standard. It was occasionally displayed by MAPSL and had a spell on loan at the Purfleet Heritage Centre. In 2018, it was sold to the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection at Old Sarum.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Engine:
Length:
Height:
Wing span:
Weight (empty):
Maximum load:
Maximum speed:
Endurance:
Service ceiling:
Colour scheme:
McCulloch 4-cylinder two/stroke of 72 hp.
13ft 5in (4 m)
3ft 7in (1.1 m)
11ft 6in (3.5 m)
329 lb (149 kg)
101 lb (45.8 kg)
184 mph
40 minutes
15,000 ft (4.572 m)
bright red for easy recognition.
GEC Avionics Ltd. Phoenix Drone
Since the 1950s, teams at Airport Works have been involved with pilotless drone aircraft, used originally for target practice. Automatic pilots were fitted to dedicated drones, such as the Australian Jindivik, as well as to aircraft at the end of their service lives, such as the Canberra. Company-funded research at GEC Avionics Ltd. during the early 1980's proved that images could be transmitted, by day or night, in real time, from an unmanned air vehicle, prompting the Ministry of Defence to invite tenders for a complete system for the British Army. When Phoenix won the contract in 1985, the concept of remote surveillance of the battlefield became a reality. Phoenix could be handled by two soldiers, rapidly assembled and launched from a truck. It was then remotely-controlled from a mobile cabin.
A thermal imaging sensor with a powerful zoom lens provided high-quality imagery in real time to the ground station, allowing accurate target location and adjustment of armament fire. Flight control was by a lightweight autopilot which received commands from a ground crew in the mobile control cabin, using a ground data terminal and two-way secure data link. The sensor pod was gyro-stabilised and protected by the drone landing inverted, assisted by a parachute. The tops of the tail fins and the wing tips were frangible to protect the pod and could be replaced easily.
The Phoenix operated in Kosovo in 1999 and later saw service in the first Iraq War, in an environment far different from the one for which it had been intended. By then, enormous advances in electronics and sensor technology had overtaken the pioneering design and Phoenix was withdrawn from service in 2008.
The example that was restored, serial ZJ303, had been displayed close to the entrance to the Rochester Airport Works factory of BAE SYSTEMS. After suffering damage from the weather, it was restored to display condition for the company by MAPSL but currently remains in store. The wings and fuselage of a second RPV comprising a mixture of development and spare parts have been rebuilt by MAPSL and is registered as BAPC 356 on the anonymous register. Unfortunately, we do not have a sensor pod. It was on display at the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection at Old Sarum between 2018 and 2022, but was returned to the MAPSL workshops, where it can be assembled for display at events.