page_title: AirStrato
section_title: Development
hierarchical_section_title: AirStrato / Development
caption_attribution_description: AirStrato prototype 001 before first flight.
context_page_description: AirStrato is a solar powered medium-sized unmanned aerial vehicle that was being developed by ARCAspace. There were two variants planned, AirStrato Explorer with a target flight ceiling of 18,000 m and AirStrato Pioneer with a target flight ceiling of 8000 m. It was planned to carry a 45 kg payload consisting of surveillance equipment, scientific instruments or additional battery pods for extended autonomy. The first prototype maiden flight took place on February 28, 2014. It was equipped with a fixed landing gear. Two more prototypes were constructed that lacked a landing gear. Instead ARCA opted for a pneumatic catapult as a launcher and landing skids and a recovery parachute for landing. Both prototypes performed take-off and landing testing and low altitude flights.
context_section_description: AirStrato was first presented by ARCA on February 10, 2014 as an alternative to the stratospheric balloons that had been used before in missions involving the Helen and Stabilo programs and the high altitude flights for the ExoMars program. Although capable of carrying less payload than a helium or solar balloon, the aircraft had a much lower cost per mission and could stay in the stratosphere for longer periods of time. Unlike a weather balloon that could not be steered and relied on wind forecasts to predict its trajectory the AirStrato could be remote controlled by a pilot on the ground. At that time ARCA designed the UAV to fulfill its own requirements for high altitude equipment testing and had a commercial version of the aircraft for consideration. The first prototype was equipped with a fixed landing gear and had two electric motors.
  After a series of runway testing on rough ground, suspensions were added to the landing gear to improve handling and the number of electric motors was increased to four. The first prototype flew on February 28, 2014. ARCA released several images of AirStrato taking off and flying at very low altitude. The press release stated that the right landing gear suspension was damaged on landing.
  For nine months ARCA did not make public any news on the progress of the program, until November 10 when it released a short teaser on the aircraft featuring two other models in red and yellow colours performing flights. The two models lacked a landing gear. On its website it presented the aircraft as intended to fill a gap between large military grade UAV and small scale affordable drones for small businesses and individuals. On November 25 it made public the product website alongside a much longer video presenting the aircraft taking off from a pneumatic launcher and performing low altitudes flights. The aircraft were equipped with landing skids and deployable parachutes. Two versions of the aircraft are available, a larger stratospheric flying model with longer endurance, named Explorer and a slightly smaller version indended for lower altitudes and having less endurance, named Pioneer.
  In 2015, ARCA received $215,000 of seed funding from Anova Technologies to develop the  AirStrato UAV.  Additional funding, totaling $750,000, was to be invested if ARCA met certain development milestones, including flight tests and FAA certification.  However, after a series of business disputes about additional funding, the AirStrato program was sold to Anova Technologies.
caption: AirStrato prototype 001 before takeoff
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