US fuel cell manufacturer UTC announced that the first ever fuel cell powered unmanned helicopter flight took place on October 11 2009 on its campus in East Hartford, Connecticut, with a 20 minute flight.
First fuel cell helicopter. Picture form ecofriend.org.
The helicopter used had a rotor diamater of 2m, and a weight of 10kg, with a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell onboard with maximum output of 1.75 kW. It had a 4200 psi hydrogen source and air supply onboard.
UTC notes that much greater power is needed to lift the same weight of aircraft, if it uses rotary lift rather than fixed wing lift - so it is harder to build a fuel cell powered helicopter than a fuel cell powered aeroplane.
The fuel cell was started with hydrogen supply only, and no additional batteries. The helicopter can carry a payload of 5lb (approx 2.3kg), UTC says.
Source: Fuel Cells, Nov 26 2009 (The Hydrogen Journal)
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