A grey Stratus-1 aircraft banking over autumn trees with a lake behind

Stratus-1

  • Rapid
  • Autonomous
  • Persistent

Autonomous air vehicle

[ STRS-01 ]

A two-metre pusher that you print, wire and fly yourself. It launches off a bungee, flies a survey on its own, and comes home. Built for hours in the air, not minutes.

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Stratus-1 flying into a low sun over dark green hills

General system

Design values. Flight tests will confirm them.

Side
Side silhouette: a slim fuselage with a pusher propeller and an inverted V tail
Length
1.20 m
Layout
Pusher, inverted V tail
Fuselage
Chined, splits for transport
Plan
Plan silhouette: long straight tapered wings
Wingspan
2.0 m
Aspect ratio
12
Wing halves
Detach, 1.0 m each
Front
Head-on silhouette with the wing and the downward V tail
Weight target
≤ 2.0 kg ready to fly
Cruise
12 m/s
Endurance target
≥ 1.25 h on 3S2P Li-ion

Missions

What it's for

SurveyMapping runs over fields, shores and towns, with a downward camera behind a belly window. EnduranceA long thin wing and a slow cruise, sized for over an hour aloft. FPVA camera in the nose for flying by eye, with the autopilot behind you. AutonomyAn open platform for trying new autonomy, from waypoints to a companion computer.

Build qualities

01 / 04

Printed airframe

Every section fits a 256 mm print bed. Skins and webs are lightweight foaming PLA over carbon spars. Break one, print one.

Close-up of a brass nozzle laying a fresh layer of grey plastic on top of identical layers below

Print the fleet

Scroll →

Poster: And the rockets red glare, over dusk hills Illustrated poster: Built by hand, flown by code Poster: three aircraft over green hills Illustrated poster: Hold the high ground Poster: Print the fleet, over a dark flag Illustrated poster: Launch at first light

Where it stands

Stratus-1 has not flown yet. Every number on this page is a design value until flight tests prove it, and we'll post those results here.

  1. 01ConceptLayout, size and design point chosen. Done.
  2. 02Preliminary designWhole airframe in CAD. Weighing printed parts now.
  3. 03Print and bench testThrust, heat and avionics on the bench, props off.
  4. 04First flightManual first, then autonomous over open water.
  5. 05ReleasePlans, kits and built aircraft, if it earns them.

Fly your own

If it flies well. Not for sale yet.

Plans

The print files, the build guide and the autopilot setup. You print it and source the parts.

Kit

Printed parts, spars and hardware in a box. You add the electronics you choose.

Built

Assembled, set up and checked. Charge it and fly.