First Test Run For Aircraft At Lakehurst
Asbury Park (NJ) Press
May 13, 2003
By Kirk Moore, Staff Writer

The first flight by an unmanned aerial vehicle at Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station was launched yesterday when a remote-controlled aircraft took off for a test flight, Navy officials said.

Built by Theiss Aviation of Ohio, the Tarzan II aircraft has a wingspan of just 18 feet, but it is capable of carrying sensors to detect hazardous materials, and is undergoing evaluation as part of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's homeland security initiative, according to a statement released by the base.

Because such aircraft carry no pilots, they can be sent into dangerous airspace and loiter for hours on end collecting data. High-performance unmanned craft, such as the Predator design, have even carried out missile attacks on targets in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen. More modest designs are employed by the military to gather tactical information for battlefield commanders, much as slow, propeller-driven observation aircraft were used in the Vietnam War.

With its V-shaped tail and boxy wings, the Tarzan II seen from a distance bears some resemblance to the venerable Beechcraft Bonanza, a design that revolutionized general aviation in the late 1940s. Designer Shawn M. Theiss is known for incorporating such classic elements in his ultralight and home-built aircraft designs. In recent years he has concentrated on the growing market for such vehicles with varied military, security and research applications.

In 1998, Theiss was approached by the Naval Research Laboratories in Washington, D.C., about developing unmanned aerial vehicles for the Navy. Like full-size Navy aircraft, the Tarzan II can be folded up to save space on ships at sea; hinge points on the wing and fuselage allow the craft to bend into a 6-foot by 6.5-foot package during transport.

Testing now underway at Lakehurst is helping engineers assess the Tarzan II's flight characteristics, as part of the process toward defining pilot skills and qualifications so remote-control operators can be properly trained.

Lakehurst is the Navy's center for launch and recovery equipment used on aircraft carriers, and eventually its test catapults and arresting gear will be used to test vehicles for duty at sea, according to base officials.