The airframe was printed in sections, bonded and reinforced with carbon-fibre rods and a central wing tube. Removable covers provided access to the electronics, while detachable wings supported transport and assembly. Two first-time users each fitted the wings in under two minutes.
Printing the complete final airframe took 180 hours. Earlier prototypes and development iterations added many hundreds of printing hours, with two printers operating in parallel.
The airframe was printed in sections, bonded and reinforced with carbon-fibre rods and a central wing tube. Removable covers provided access to the electronics, while detachable wings supported transport and assembly. Two first-time users each fitted the wings in under two minutes.
Ground checks exercised the control surfaces through radio commands before the launch attempt.
Integration covered a flight controller, M10Q GPS and compass, pitot-tube airspeed sensing, a FlySky radio receiver and an RFD900 data link. Camera payload work included a full-size GoPro and a GoPro Mini. A Raspberry Pi was planned as a further addition. ArduPilot provided flight control, with Mission Planner used for configuration and inspection.
Ground testing compared the initial 4S supply with a later 6S arrangement. Two 3S batteries connected in series provided the higher voltage in the final circuit. Propulsion tests accompanied control-surface checks and avionics integration before the launch attempt.
Mk2 was the first major development effort. Lessons from its manufacture prompted trials of tandem wings, flying wings, twin-boom layouts and other configurations, including the EDF and jet-powered Mark 10X concepts. Mk11 became Mk2’s direct successor, refined into Mk12 and finally Mk12+.
Mk2 exposed excessive mass from thick walls, standard PLA and unoptimised geometry and print settings, alongside a weak region around a wing-servo recess. The redesign simplified the wings and shaped the fuselage around the onboard electronics, retaining the V-tail while reworking the most problematic assemblies.
Mk2 exposed excessive mass from thick walls, standard PLA and unoptimised geometry and print settings, alongside a weak region around a wing-servo recess. The redesign simplified the wings and shaped the fuselage around the onboard electronics, retaining the V-tail while reworking the most problematic assemblies.
Lightweight PLA reduced one matched component from 25 g to 12 g. Foaming altered the printed clearances, requiring further fit adjustments. Printing the complete final airframe took 180 hours; development iterations added many hundreds of printing hours across two printers operating in parallel.
Lightweight PLA reduced one matched component from 25 g to 12 g. Foaming altered the printed clearances, requiring further fit adjustments. Printing the complete final airframe took 180 hours; development iterations added many hundreds of printing hours across two printers operating in parallel.
A sharp bank immediately after release ended the first launch attempt before sustained flight. Recorded roll and throttle traces were compared to investigate the launch-phase loss of control. The analysis focused on the hand-launch transient and the limited opportunity to recover at low speed. A dedicated launch system became a proposed next step.
The Mk12+ was the final refinement of a development line that began with Mk2, progressed through a direct successor in Mk11 and evolved into Mk12. A compact fuselage packaged the payload and flight electronics, while detachable wings supported transport and assembly.
A concept visualisation of BELUGA Mk12 in series production, showing repeated airframes arranged at fleet scale.
