Hermeus Quarterhorse Mk1 Takes Flight Hermeus is ramping up for the first flight for the flight test campaign of the Quarterhorse Mk 1. So far, the Quarterhorse Mk 1 has been going through ground testing. Ground testing culminated in 130-knot (150 mph) taxi tests with full afterburner on Edwards' iconic dry lakebed, offering a valuable opportunity to validate aerodynamic model assumptions, assess the aircraft's directional control, and evaluate the performance of control surfaces, among other things. The Mk 1 has made its first flight now at the same Edwards Air Force Base in California.
The Mk 1 vehicle is now being used to validate high-speed takeoff and landing gear of a large uncrewed aircraft, Hermeus said, noting that its unique configuration for high-speed flight can make basic takeoff and landing operations challenging. "The real-world flight data from Mk 1 provides significant technical value that we’re rolling into our next aircraft," said co-founder and president Skyler Shuford.
"Mk 1 has redefined the pace of developing and flying new aircraft," said Hermeus CEO and co-founder AJ Piplica. "We’ve proven the viability of our iterative development approach. But this is just the start. We have much more to do as the bar rises for the next iteration." The next iteration is going to be the Quarterhorse Mk 2 which is already in development. Ultimately there are going to be three Quarterhorses for testing.
The ultimate goal is to jump from the Quarterhorse category of demonstrators towards the end-goal which is to provide Military and Passenger variants. 'Darkhorse' will be the hypersonic multi-mission uncrewed aircraft for Military applications and the Halcyon would be the passenger version. These will be one of the main thrust for hypersonic endeavours in the future. For more information: Hermeus 1954 Airport Rd Atlanta, Georgia 30341 www.hermeus.com ***
