"Elbit also makes Wankel rotary powered UAV's."

Paul Lamar



No mention on the Elbit website that they manufacture the Wankels -
Any idea of a source for the engines in the attached photos ??

Roland Friestad


They probably went secret :) They could be from UAV Wankel engines in
the UK.

If you put "UAV wankel engines" in Google they will come up.

The UAV aircraft pictures I took at the Paris air show in 2005.

Paul Lamar


In a UAV, extending flight duration per pound of fuel burned is probably at
the top of the list. Adding turbo compounding to a rotary powered UAV seems to
be a no-brainer to accomplish this goal.
Paul, you have been looking for someone to develop the technology for a long
time.  The UAV industry should have sufficient motivation to spend the capital
needed to develop turbo compounding technology for the rotary. Perhaps they
already have?

Cole Chandler

Could be. They have the success of the Form 1 turbo compound engines for inspiration.

http://www.rotaryeng.net/Oxford-TC-talk.mp4

If not AIXRO could do it and the UAV world, not to mention the wannabe  range extenders,
would beat a path to their door. A small turbo charger and a small gear box is all
they need. The thing about UAV's is a high percentage of the engine power is
used to generate electricity for the electronics package. Just hooking the turbo charger
to a generator would accomplish that. Cheap and simple. That is essentially what they
do in Formula 1.

Paul Lamar


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