enter the ‘flight deck’

Where pilots and engineers will fly Quarterhorse

October 12, 2022

One of the most important features of Quarterhorse is that it’s unpiloted. This allows us to push more risk into the test program. Imagine if there was someone onboard. The stakes would be exponentially higher.

However, “unpiloted” may not be the best word because we do have pilots and they will be flying the vehicle – just not in the air but from the ground in… the Flight Deck.

WHAT MAKES THIS SHIPPING CONTAINER SPECIAL?

The Flight Deck has been designed from the ground up to support off-grid stand-alone operations in austere environments.

It supports a pilot, payload operator, four operational analysts, and multiple jump-seats for observers.

The dedicated high-performance computing center, HPCC, has an isolated climate control zone to insure all flight-critical equipment is protected. This HPCC delivers a dual-redundant cloud-based computing and power architecture that meets the current DoD RPA CONOPS and leverages cutting-edge rapid prototyping and AI/ML technologies.

It’s also built to DoD secure-room standards allowing for turn-key open-storage, video conferencing, and operations.

The fact that all equipment fits within an unmarked intermodal container footprint allows for discreet rapid world-wide deployment.

For starters, it will be spending a lot of time in the California desert where we’ll fly Quarterhorse for the very first time next year.

Up next

What we’re sharing today is merely a sneak peek. We’re continuing to refine the flight software, install the communication dishes, and add the finishing touches to the interior.

More to come…

About Hermeus

Hermeus is a startup developing hypersonic aircraft to radically accelerate air travel. At Mach 5, more than twice the speed of the supersonic Concorde, passengers will be able to cross the Atlantic in 90 minutes. On the path to hypersonic passenger aircraft, Hermeus is partnering with government agencies including the US Air Force and NASA to develop a series of autonomous aircraft that derisk the technology and solve urgent national security challenges. These products provide the data and confidence necessary to certify, produce, operate, and maintain safe and comfortable commercial aircraft. Hypersonic aircraft have the potential to create trillions of dollars of new global economic growth per year, unlocking significant resources that can be utilized to solve the world’s greatest problems.