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PLIMP: hybrid craft combines a plane, helicopter and a blimp

CAPSLOCKSTUCK

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A plane-blimp hybrid that can hover like a helicopter has been revealed by Seattle-based aviation company Egan Airships.

The aircraft, dubbed 'plimp,' is a new type of Unmanned Aircraft System, or drone, that can maneuver like like a plane, hover, take off and land vertically like a helicopter, and operate like a blimp.

The 28-foot (8.5 meter) long aircraft, which can travel at maximum speeds of 40 miles per hour (64 kilometers per hour), could be used for applications such as agriculture, surveying, border patrol and cinema and commercial filming.

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The aircraft, developed by twin brothers James and Joel Egan, can reach a 500-foot (152-meter) vertical altitude and has a helium-filled blimp to keep it afloat.

The aircraft can take-off and land vertically due to the fact that its propellers face up.

But after take-off, the propellers move into a forward facing configuration, allowing the aircraft to maneuver like a plane.


The 55-pound (25 kilogram) drone can fly for one hour at a cruise speed of 30 miles (43 kilometers) per hour, while carrying a payload of 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms).

'It's the size of a moving van and it's only the weight of a car tire,' said James Egan, the President and Co-Founder of Egan Airships.

The plimp drone is remote controlled and can easily be spotted by operators due to its size, allowing someone on the ground to keep it in its sight for up to 3 miles (5 kilometers) away, the company claims.


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THE 'PLIMP' - APPLICATIONS


Due to its range of design features, the plimp aircraft can be used for a number of different applications, such as:

  • Surveillance support and traffic monitoring for police and border patrol
  • Search and rescue operational support
  • Communications relay support for remote or disaster areas
  • Agriculture monitoring and inspection
  • Power transmission line inspection
  • Railway line and pipeline inspection
  • Pollution monitoring and inspection
  • Fishing, wildlife, and forest service support and surveillance
  • Forest fire prevention, early detection, and operational support
  • Mining support
  • Survey and mapping support


Plimp

 
I guess if you don't want the MAN watching you, it would be easy to plink the plimp /s
 
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