Vanilla Aircraft
# Vanilla Aircraft

Vanilla Aircraft is an american long-endurance, low-cost UAV manufacturer. Founded by aerostructures designer Daniel Hatfield, systems engineer Neil Boertlein and programme manager Jeremy Novara, it had an annual budget of $300,000 from NASA and the US Department of Defense.

## Aircraft

### VA001

The Vanilla Aircraft VA001 is a long-endurance UAV.

Powered by an off-the-shelf diesel engine driving a pusher propeller, it is controlled by a Piccolo autopilot.

Weighting up to 600lb (272kg), it has a 36ft (11m) wing and a 55-gallon (208-litre) fuel capacity.

It has a projected endurance of up to 10 days at 55kn (102km/h) and up to 15,000 ft (4,600 m), burning 0.99 lb (450 g) of jet fuel per hour.

It is launched on a sled by a towline attached to a pickup truck and lands at at 40 kn (74 km/h) on a centrewheel.

It can carry a 30lb (13.6kg) payload: electro-optical and SAR sensors for surveillance including maritime, or act as a radio relay.

Having cost $3 million to develop, its production cost would be $500,000 while it is comparable to the 24h-endurance Boeing Insitu ScanEagle.

In October 2017, it completed a five-day 1h 20min flight at NASA Wallops in Virginia, covering 7,000 miles (11,265km) and landing with three days of fuel remaining.

Vanilla seeks to raise $5 million as a larger design could carry a 250lb (113kg) payload.

