Ray Research Dart Flyer


Quick Summary



Ray Research, based in Muttenz, Switzerland







Stage of Development

Preliminary Design


Prototype Build

Flight Testing

Certification

Commercially Operating
Technical Details

From the Ray Research Website:

Wingspan: 7.9 ft

Length: 6.6ft

Vision
Ray Research AG invents and develops new aircraft designs, as well as aircraft propulsion systems.
Our first patented aircraft, Ray, is a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (VTOL) which carries 5 persons and has a range of 1000 km. Its design resembles a stingray.
To compete for the Boeing GoFly Prize we have upscaled one of our very simple UAV designs:
The Dart Flyer is a single person tailsitter VTOL aircraft.
For takeoff and landing the head of the pilot points upwards.

For fast cruise flight, the Dart flyer glides on its aerodynamic shaped delta wings.

Fail-safe Electric Propulsion
One of the main innovations of Ray Research AG is the patent pending fail-safe electric propulsion, without any single point of failure.
This system, already used in the Ray, is also a cornerstone of the Dart concept.
It guarantees that each of the 4 motors provides at least 75% power, even after any kind of failure.

RC models
In addition to computer simulations we also use UAVs for small scaled prototypes of our manned aircraft designs.
The main purpose of the scaled models is to gather real world experience in controlling the crucial transitions between hover and cruise modes.



Our Take on the Ray Research Dart Flyer


The Ray Research Dart Flyer is a smart proof-of-concept that was submitted as an entry to the Boeing sponsored GoFly competition. However, the Dart did not advance past Phase 1 of the competition. Some perspective is important here - the Dart is intended to be used as a research platform for Ray's larger project - the VTOL - so advancements with the Ray Dart may help aid in the design of the Ray VTOL.