Imagination Takes Flight

By Kensie Westerfield

Jeff Imel has always loved everything to do with flying and machines. Growing up, he was fascinated by aviation and spent his time at the airport and helping in his parents’ machine shop. A few years ago, he got to see a different side of the airline industry when he had the chance to be a guest flight attendant on Southwest Airlines, performing the duties of a flight attendant on a route to Houston, TX, a flight he frequently flew for work.

More recently, his passion took a different twist when he founded Air Robotics, a company that designs, manufactures and sells high-performance Airborne Vehicle Systems™ (AVS) that are person-portable, can be launched by one person and are operated by using a hand-held control unit.

This plane is literally a flying robot that is hand-launched and can be flown on auto-pilot or manually. It is used to gather data for a variety of different types of clients and is more affordable than commissioning a pilot to fly a small plane or helicopter to gather the same information because you can rent or buy an aircraft. The plane produced by Air Robotics has a completely unique design and opens up a whole new world of Airborne Vehicle Systems.

Imel has taken a life-long interest and turned it into an innovative, one-of-a-kind, problem solving company. As part of this issue’s focus on entrepreneurs and innovators, we wanted to give each of you the chance to see what Air Robotics is capable of and hopefully feel inspired to let your inner entrepreneur take flight.

WVE: When did your interest in model planes begin? 

JI: I have always enjoyed aviation. When I was a child, my idea of a good time was to ride my bike four miles to the airport and sit and watch the flight operations. However, I also enjoyed electronics, and that’s what I went to school for in the Marines and also in civilian life. I worked in my parents’ machine shop and loved creating and machining parts out of steel. It is amazing to see the electronics that go into flying a model airplane. Learning to fly model planes in 1999 and private pilot flying lessons in 2001 eventually lead to me designing my own aircraft, manufacturing my own parts and installing avionics in these aircraft that allow them to do useful work.

WVE: Air Robotics wasn’t originally founded here. Why did you move the company to West Virginia? 

JI: We originally opened in Muncie, IN in 2007 as Indiana Unmanned Aircraft Systems. We began doing business in West Virginia in 2009 and changed the name of the company to Air Robotics before moving to West Virginia. I tell my peers that own high-tech manufacturing firms that they should move to West Virginia and they will find that it is the best thing they ever did. Since relocating to West Virginia, I have been fortunate to work with the Charleston Area Alliance and the Chemical Alliance Zone, the Robert C. Byrd Institute and MATRIC. They each have been invaluable to Air Robotics and we are a full 18 months ahead in production because of them.

I have also been pleased by the ready-to-work workforce here. We need people who either have experience in a high-tech manufacturing environment, robotics or aviation and they can all be found in West Virginia. There are also such wonderful education opportunities in those areas that are all within a short drive and will provide out-of-the-box and customized training. West Virginia is a leader in workforce training and that helps the state stand out.

WVE: What led to the creation of your first customized model aircraft? 

JI: I first learned to fly model aircraft in 1999 and within nine months was competing in national model aviation competitions. In 2002, I began researching all-wing aircraft to fly in these scale model flight competitions. All-wing aircraft consist of only a wing and no fuselage or tail. I discovered there were no plans available to build the all-wing model, so I began researching the work of John K. Northrop and Walter and Reimer Horten. Though separated by the Atlantic Ocean and a world war, Northrop and the Hortens discovered the benefits of this unique design during the 1930s and 40s. I obtained copies of their original documentation and technical papers and, within a year, designed the Im I, a single-engine, alcohol-fuel powered, all-wing platform with an 8-foot wingspan. Testing began in February 2003, but the Im I was destroyed during high-speed taxi tests. Determined to learn from the experience, I immediately began working on the Im II and in April of 2003, less than a month after the Im I incident, the Im II flew successfully for the first time.

As 2003 progressed, I continued to test variations in scale and design to create more advanced aircraft. The Im III is a small unmanned aircraft (UA) with a 48-inch wingspan powered by a small electric motor. In December 2003, I test flew the Im IV, a 70-inch wingspan, twin-size electric motor flying wing.

Between 2003 and 2008, I continued to build more and more advanced prototypes until I designed the Im VII.

WVE: What inspired you to build this type of aircraft? 

JI: I was inspired by growing up in a machine shop owned by my parents. They are entrepreneurs, and part
of being a member of the family is working in the machine shop. I started working at the age of 10, training to operate a vertical milling machine and being head janitor. I worked there for eight years until I left for the Marine Corps. I learned while working in the machine shop that I love to take ideas in my head, get them to paper and then cut and machine raw materials into the vision I originally had.

WVE: How often do you have to perform maintenance on your aircraft? 

JI: Much like commercial aircraft, we have a maintenance schedule that is based on the number of flight hours. Every 25 flight hours we bring the aircraft in for two days of maintenance where critical parts are inspected, tested and replaced. Before and after every flight, we have checklists that the pilots run to inspect and prepare the aircraft for flight and to shut down the aircraft after flight.

WVE: Explain the different types of payloads you can include in an AVS. 

JI: Our AVS is designed to carry a wide variety of sensors that include electro-optical (EO) sensors, which are video cameras and still cameras; infrared (IR) sensors, specifically near infrared and thermal infrared and chemical sensors, which can detect chemicals, explosives and gases.

WVE: What types of companies and industries most often utilize your aircraft?

JI: Our aircraft are used by a variety of different industries including mining, forestry, agriculture and civil engineering. Any organization that is moving earth and natural resources and is accountable to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) benefits from the deliverables from our AVS.

Anytime an organization is disturbing the earth (moving earth, removing trees and vegetation), it is faced with a whole host of environmental issues. The images from our cameras can be used to create 3D maps and prediction models, something the EPA does not have. Since we can fly more often than a manned aircraft (because we are less limited by cloud cover due to our ability to fly under the clouds) and collect data with six times the detail, we can provide images that help the developer and the EPA to work together. The EPA is getting more data than they ever had and the developer has complete control over his or her project through aerial intelligence.

WVE: Tell us about the first time your aircraft crashed and what you learned from it. 

JI: My first attempt at designing a blended-wing-bodied aircraft crashed on its first test flight. It never actually took off—it was more of a high-speed taxi test that completely destroyed the first aircraft. I stayed up all night watching the crash video, studying the crash debris and looking at the evidence. By 10:30 a.m. the next morning, I had my answer. I knew why the aircraft crashed. It was one little change. I made that change to the next AVS I built and two weeks later the Im II successfully flew for the first time. I learned that persistence is often the deciding factor between success and failure. I am glad I did not quit. That moment in time changed my life forever.

Out of that crash I got the idea of creating an airframe that can absorb damage and keep flying. At that time that was impossible. Six prototypes later led to creating intellectual property that is in the patent application process as we speak. Our AVS now can survive a fall from 600 feet and fly again with little to no damage to the airframe. You can park a truck on the airframe, hit it repeatedly with a hammer and shoot it with an assault rifle and it keeps flying.

The crash of my first UAV cost me more than $7,000 and was a total loss. A crash today using our present designs may not cost anything at all—just dust off the airframe, check the AVS and payload and fly again.

WVE: How is the data collected during a flight?

JI: We collect the data in an on-board flight data recorder (black box) as well as on Flash and solid state hard drives connected to our payload and through a digital data link to a computer on the ground. Through our work with our geographic information system (GIS) partner, we have developed processes and methods to capture high-value imagery that can be used to develop 3D digital elevation models and digital terrain models with a resolution as high as one inch. In an industry in which six-inch resolution is the gold standard, we are able to deliver products that increase resolution by 600 percent.

WVE: What is different about your aircraft than that of your competition?

JI: We are the first and currently only company to commercially produce an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) that is resistant to foreign object damage. We have eliminated the two most vulnerable and limiting areas, the fuselage and the tail group. We have constructed our AVS out of light-weight, energy-dissipating materials.

We are the only company to produce a small UAS based on a pure blended-wing body design. There are no vertical surfaces on our aircraft. While incumbent UAS manufacturers may recognize the benefits of blended-wing body design, we believe that due to technology limitations and the relatively limited expertise of incumbent UAS manufacturers in flying wing aerodynamics and foam core aircraft structure technologies, these manufacturers have, to date, been unable to design and offer a commercially successful UAS that offers compelling, non-payload-centric lifting capability, damage resistance and performance at an affordable cost.

We are the only company to produce a UAS that allows payload pod interchangeability through our Modular Payload Lifting System™ (MPLS). MPLS, a disruptive technology within the UAS industry, allows clients to use their AVS for multiple missions, unlike the majority of other systems on the market today that are designed for mono-mission tasks. We eliminate the fuselage, enabling clients to carry variable payloads, ones that include other items besides the typical, wireless video camera.

WVE: Explain the capabilities of your plane. 

JI: The military version of our AVS is capable of flying more than 100 miles with an endurance of more than two hours. Most of our AVS are used in situations where they are flown within line-of-sight of the pilot and at altitudes of less than 350 feet in remote areas.

We have different models of our AVS that are between 70 and 100 inches. All are powered using electric motors and lithium batteries. The AVS with payload can weigh anywhere between four to 20 pounds. Most AVS are less than five pounds because they are constructed out of light-weight, energy-dissipating materials with a patent pending foam manufacturing and skin system. We do not use carbon fiber and plastic, which are prone to cracking and breakage.

WVE: How much does it cost to purchase a plane? 

JI: We sell or lease our AVS direct to the client. Depending on the payload, which is the compartment that holds the different cameras or sensors, and avionics on board, an AVS can cost anywhere between $60,000 and $200,000.

WVE: How do you tell the aircraft where to fly? 

JI: The AVS is literally a flying robot. We preprogram it before it takes off and we can program it while in flight. The AVS has all of the instruments found on commercial aircraft, GPS navigation, magnetic compass, airspeed indicator, barometric altimeter and a flight data recorder (black box). All of these instruments are used for flight control and navigation.

WVE: What kind of accommodations do you need to take off and land?

JI: We need a small clearing to launch and land. We typically launch and land from areas that are as about as rocky as the surface of the moon. The side of a road and a small clearing free of trees both work for us. We do not require prepared runways or landing zones to operate.

WVE: What is different about the payload section of your aircraft?

JI: We use attachment methods that allow the Modular Payload Lifting System™ to detach from the airframe during a hard landing. We found that hard points with screws get stripped out and damage the airframe and payload. We designed an attachment method that is under patent application that will endure 20 G’s of stress in the air but with a head-on impact will detach and dissipate energy much like a NASCAR vehicle is designed to do. With our system, you can re-attach the payload bay with little or no damage.

WVE: What are you plans for the future?

JI: We are in the planning phase of expanding into another 3,500 square feet of space in Charleston at the Charleston Area Alliance. This will give us more room for manufacturing and hiring another 10 people. We plan to use more of the resources found at the Robert C. Byrd Institute for our machining process. RCBI has been instrumental in our success here in West Virginia and we will be deepening our partnership with them.

WVE: Is there anything else you’d like to mention? 

JI: I love West Virginia. It truly is “Almost Heaven.” I am blessed to live in the Mountain State.