Why we need to start using UAVs to save the Environment
Today I want to talk about the effect of our CGT50 VTOL system and many equivalents on helping to save nature.
There is a lot going on and countries are discussing the reduction of CO2 emissions they generate. Since we are an Irish company, we looked into the use of helicopters for certain applications.
According to an article by Josh Reynolds from IASA on 04 th March 2020, “WHAT DOES A PILOT IN THE IRISH AIR CORPS DO?” the Air Corps fleets also use two EC-135P2 light-utility helicopters among other systems and perform ISR missions with these helicopters. I would also assume that the helicopter might be used for small but urgent cargo delivery such as medical cargo, blood etc.
According to technical documentation of the EC-135, the
- empty weight, basic version, wet is 1490 kg .
- Fuel consumption at economical cruising speed of approx. 240 km/h and full weight (2.835 kg) is 219 kg/h.
- Fuel consumption at economical cruising speed of 220 km/h and gross weight of 2.200 kg is 187.5 kg/h
- Useful load 1,265 kg
So what happens if you perform ISR missions with this system or need to carry a small but valuable cargo (medical cargo for example blood etc.), which needs to be transported very quickly.
Assuming that these missions are carried out in the lightest possible configuration (2.200 kg), the helicopter would use 187.5 kg fuel for 220 km mission which is 187/220 = 0,852 (kg/km) fuel to carry a small package or perform ISR of a distance of 1 km.
The CGT50 VTOL UAV can carry a 5kg payload at a speed of 90 km/h and the fuel consumption is 1 kg/h.
Using the CGT50 for medical cargo transfer or for day and night ISR missions means that the fuel consumption would be 1(kg/h)/90(km/h) = 0,011 (kg/km).
According to EPA, every litre of gasoline burned creates about 2348gr of CO2.
Since the CGT50 VTOL UAV standard configuration consumes about 1.5l (1 kg) per 90km, the actual CO2 created by it would be only 3522gr/90 km which is 39gr/km.
So we can conclude that the CGT50 reduces the CO2 emissions caused by small cargo transfer or ISR only missions by 77 times (%7745) compared to doing the same mission using an EC-135 helicopter.
That said, we don’t claim that helicopters are bad. When you use the EC-135 at full capacity (carrying 1.200 kg cargo, persons etc.) the CO2 emissions drop even lower than using the CGT50.
What we are pointing out is that there is no meaning in using helicopters to perform jobs that can be carried out by UAVs.
Note : This is just a comparison in terms of CO2 emissions. If you would like to know the comparison in cost, leave a comment, I will work on that too.