RnR Products is proud to have built the Mark I Aerosonde airframe

The Mark I Aerosonde is the first robotic aircraft to cross the North Atlantic Ocean. It flew ~2000 miles from St. John's, Newfoundland to the Outer Hebrides of Scotland in roughly 26 hours. Aerosonde was a joint project between the Insitu Group (Australia) and the University of Washington. It was funded by a grant from the US Office of Naval Research and is currently manufactured by Aerosonde Robotic Aircraft in Australia and Aerosonde North America.

The Mark I Aerosonde airframe used in the crossing has a 9-foot wingspan, weighed 29 pounds and was powered by a one-cylinder 20cc engine. The payload, weighing 2 pounds included computers, a communications radio, a GPS satellite guidance system and meteorological instruments. During its North Atlantic crossing it flew a pre-determined flight plan and burned less than 2 gallons of fuel.

The flight validated the ability of a UAV operating over long distances in remote locations. The Aerosonde was initially developed for meteorological reconnaissance, and is now being used for a wide range of commercial and military applications.