Kea Aerospace claims NZ’s unmanned flight record

Kea's prototype craft during its Dec 19 record breaking flight. (Image: supplied)

Wed, 22 Dec 2021

Christchurch aviation company Kea Aerospace says it has beaten the record for the longest unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight in New Zealand.Kea said its battery and solar-powered prototype test vehicle flew non-stop on Dec 19 for 14 hours and 3 minutes, beating the previous UAV record from 1996 of 12 hours and 3 minutes.“It was tricky weather conditions, but the aircraft performed incredibly well and it could have kept on going,” Kea chief executive Mark Rocket told BusinessDesk. “We had a lot of battery power left at t...

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