VectoADP Beak air-data pressure probe

The VectoADP Beak is a boom-mounted, heated air data probe from Vectoflow, a German manufacturer of additively manufactured flow-measurement probes. It is a pitot-static, multi-hole probe that samples the airflow ahead of the aircraft so that airspeed, angle of attack and sideslip can be measured in undisturbed flow.

The probe is described as trisonic and designed for general aviation and aerospace use. The maker lists UAV and drone air-data systems, light aircraft and other aerospace applications as its fields. Being mounted on a boom places the sensing tip beyond the flow disturbed by the fuselage or wing, which is the standard approach on research aircraft and flight-test installations, and it is relevant to large unmanned aircraft that need reliable air data for flight control and envelope protection.

The main features are an aerodynamic shape optimized for low drag and straightforward integration, and an integrated heater that provides anti-icing and de-icing. The heated tip keeps the pressure ports open in icing conditions, which is a requirement for operation in cloud on aircraft that do not fly only in clear air. An optional total air temperature (TAT) probe can be added to the probe to complete the air data set, giving temperature along with the pressure-derived values.

For integration, the probe is a sensing element only: its pressure ports connect by tubing to a pressure transducer or air data computer, and the heater needs its own power supply and control circuit. The measurement of angle of attack and sideslip comes from the pressure differences between the ports of the multi-hole tip, so the data computer must be matched to the port layout and the calibration of the probe. Vectoflow produces and calibrates probes in-house in Gilching, Germany, and offers custom probe geometries.

The additive manufacturing process allows complex internal channels and compact multi-sensor designs, which gives light and robust probes.

Typical applications are air data measurement on UAVs and drones, light aircraft, flight-test installations and other aerospace platforms that need airspeed and flow-angle sensing in a single boom-mounted probe.