When you see it....

"J. Walter Weatherman" (J-WalterWeatherman)
09/11/2013 at 10:17 • Filed to: Planelopnik, dronelopnik

One of my best friends (the guy whose bachelor party we cut the roof off of the Volvo 240 at, for those of you that recall that post) just got a job at a local company that designs surveillance drones. He just sent me this picture.

Look closely. Notice anything out of the ordinary about the design of the drone?

Oh, and the drone company is located next to a brewery, and lets the brewery store stuff in their warehouse, and in return, all the drone company employees drink for free at the brewery. Best job ever? Best job ever.

DISCUSSION (47)

Party-vi > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:20

It's all CF?

Mikeado > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:20

I'm afraid you'll have to explain what my no0b eyes are missing.

etreynolds > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:20

Downward and upward facing props forward and aft on the two outer fuselage booms... Interesting. Do you have any more info on this design?

Kugelblitz > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:21

Four VTOL type props per boom? What does that mean in terms of lift?

Tim Allardyce > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:21

Whats the mount in front of the wings for ?

dinobot666 > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:21

Not sure what I'm looking for here, but that mountain bike on the far side of the wall sure looks like the fade paint job on an early 90s Gary Fisher.

corvairsomeday2 > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:22

Vertical takeoff or at least STOL capability? Smart idea! Are the motors recharged by the primary engine? I see that the props are counter-rotating to essentially cancel the prop vortices, for efficiency.

Reason #353 I wished I lived in Tucson.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Mikeado
09/11/2013 at 10:23

It's secretly a quadrotor for takeoff.

Ad Astra > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:24

I guess it can hover using those four props. That's pretty awesome.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Party-vi
09/11/2013 at 10:24

Ask yourself, "Why does it have a boom forward of the wing if it doesn't have a motor in it?"

J. Walter Weatherman > Ad Astra
09/11/2013 at 10:26

How many props? I think you missed a few...

J. Walter Weatherman > Party-vi
09/11/2013 at 10:27

It is all CF, but that isn't even the coolest part. Hint: see if you can count how many propellers it has.

Ad Astra > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:29

Ah, yes, I missed the ones on the bottom.

J. Walter Weatherman > dinobot666
09/11/2013 at 10:29

Ha. Good eye. That is not what I was getting at, but it is another awesome thing about the place. All the guys are into bikes... and they ride around the warehouse on skateboards too!

J. Walter Weatherman > Tim Allardyce
09/11/2013 at 10:31

Those are not mounts, they are vertical propellers. It incorporates quadrotor technology.

J. Walter Weatherman > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
09/11/2013 at 10:32

Not so much for takeoff, I believe, more for hovering once it reaches it's target.

J. Walter Weatherman > Kugelblitz
09/11/2013 at 10:33

Yeah. I don't have much in terms of details yet, but it combines quadrotor tech with that of regular drone.

Tim Allardyce > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:33

So is that the answer?

Party-vi > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:33

Just picked that up - that's insanely awesome!

Party-vi > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
09/11/2013 at 10:33

Battering ram. Gotta be a battering ram.

J. Walter Weatherman > etreynolds
09/11/2013 at 10:34

I don't have much in terms of details yet. I will try to get more info and make another post.

Kerberos824 > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:36

The quadrotor is definitely neat. My favorite part? It looks like a P-38.

J. Walter Weatherman > corvairsomeday2
09/11/2013 at 10:36

I don't think it is really for vertical takeoff, so much as it is for hovering to conduct surveillance. The main engine allows it to fly at higher speeds to more efficiently get to its target, and then the vertical rotors allow it to hover and be more maneuverable once it gets there.

J. Walter Weatherman > Tim Allardyce
09/11/2013 at 10:38

Yeah. I had looked at the picture a number of times before I saw the rotors. It wasn't until my buddy pointed them out that I saw them.

Quattro-luvr, Powered by Datsun & Stinger > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:40

You dawg. We hear that your props like props, so we gave you even more props ... squared.

Because maths.

Tim Allardyce > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:43

oh yeah - look at that! I didn't see them until just now, too :)

J. Walter Weatherman > Tim Allardyce
09/11/2013 at 10:46

Top and bottom of the fuselages, too. 9 rotors total!

DCCARGEEK > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:52

Mircoturbine > props.

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:54

Phallic looking propeller blade?

magman007 > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 10:56

What company? I would like to contact them

Mattbob > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 11:02

Is this the guy that builds the bikes too? Dude is a badass. Also, sweet quad rotors. I wish I worked there, it does indeed sound like the best job ever. Where is this, and do they need an electrical engineer?

J. Walter Weatherman > Mattbob
09/11/2013 at 11:08

Yeah, same guy. He is a badass indeed. The company is here in Tucson, AZ. I don't think they are hiring, they are a pretty small operation!

DCCARGEEK > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 11:10

Latitude Engineering drinks Barrio Brewing beer.

J. Walter Weatherman > magman007
09/11/2013 at 11:12

It's called Latitude Engineering . You just want some free beer, don't you? :P

corvairsomeday2 > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 11:12

Very cool.

Are they hiring? (I'm only half-kidding. Heck, I'm only 29% kidding.)

J. Walter Weatherman > DCCARGEEK
09/11/2013 at 11:15

Kinja'd!!!

J. Walter Weatherman > DCCARGEEK
09/11/2013 at 11:16

Seriously though, do you have some independent knowledge of the company, or just really good Google-fu?

J. Walter Weatherman > corvairsomeday2
09/11/2013 at 11:17

Ha. I don't think so. They are a fairly small operation. My friend was lucky to get the job!

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 11:18

That's pretty cool! I assume the VTOL rotors are powered by electric motors?

J. Walter Weatherman > Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole
09/11/2013 at 11:20

It appears that way. I don't actually know too much about it, he just sent me this picture and I thought it was too awesome not to share. I will try to get more info.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 11:22

VTOL. Interesting.

magman007 > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 11:23

well yes, but i work for a company that sells uav's, might fit into our portfolio nicely :)

J. Walter Weatherman > magman007
09/11/2013 at 11:27

Very cool. FYI - I think that they are very much in the developmental stage right now - not something that is ready to go to market.

DCCARGEEK > J. Walter Weatherman
09/11/2013 at 11:28

Master at Google.

J. Walter Weatherman > corvairsomeday2
09/11/2013 at 11:33

Ok, so upon further research, it appears I was wrong, the rotors are more for VTOL than for hovering around a target .

J. Walter Weatherman > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
09/11/2013 at 11:34

Upon further research, it appears I was wrong, it is more for vertical takeoff and landing than hovering around a target .

J. Walter Weatherman > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
09/11/2013 at 12:06

Hmmm... upon further research, it appears I was wrong, it is for VTOL, not for hovering around a target .