Taiwan's National Cheng Kung University in Tainan successfully flew a pilotless aircraft powered by a turbojet engine Thursday, with the school saying the technology could lead to the ground-breaking development of personal flying vehicles.
The aircraft, named Sky Fortress-III, was the first university project in the world to combine a turbojet engine with a pilotless plane, according to Lai Wei-hsiang, professor of the southern school's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering.
The department has been devoted to the development of pilotless planes for more than ten years. Previous pilotless vehicles built by the university were all powered by propellers.
During the trial flight Thursday morning, the speed of the 7.5-kilogram turbojet aircraft, which carried objects weighing nine kilograms, reached 150 kilometers per hour.
The research team, led by Lai, estimated that Sky Fortress-III, over 3 meters in length and with a wingspan of 3 meters, could carry up to 20 kgs and had the potential to reach a speed of 300 kph.
Lai said that weight capacity and speed were the main focuses of pilotless plane development. The new planes could even be equipped with other technologies, like sensor devices or photography equipment, to detect and monitor a typhoon's course and internal structure, Lai added.
(CNA)
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