Volz DA 15-N-ISS servos drive High Eye Airboxer swashplate

German actuator maker Volz Servos and Dutch UAS developer High Eye have worked together on the flight control actuation of the Airboxer, a VTOL unmanned helicopter. Five DA 15-N-ISS servos from the standard Volz range, a variant of the DA 15 family, move the swashplate below the rotor and set the blade pitch angle and flight direction.

The layout follows a geometric rule: three fixed points define a plane, so two servos can theoretically fail while the swashplate stays controllable. High Eye CTO Marijn van de Ruit says that after a mechanical or electrical fault the control system still behaves normally and the helicopter can be recovered safely.

The Airboxer operates over sea, in deserts, arctic regions and cities, exposing actuators to vibration, heat, moisture, impacts and fast oscillating commands. The DA 15-N line was originally developed to survive control-surface impacts during net landings. Its brushless motor and ISS slip clutch let the drive slip beyond a torque threshold, sparing the gearbox, says Volker Hammen, Head of Development at Volz.

Volz limited changes to customer-specific adaptations such as cable lengths, says CEO Phillipp Volz. Van de Ruit rates the resulting design as High Eye’s most dependable yet.

Why it matters

The Airboxer is a heavy-fuel (Jet A-1) helicopter compliant with NATO STANAG 4738. It integrates into a ship’s combat system or a command vehicle and carries payloads of up to 7 kilograms. Shipboard and military use puts salt, shock and vibration loads on the flight controls, and swashplate redundancy adds actuator count, wiring and control logic.

The case shows a catalog actuator adapted through minor customization rather than bespoke development. Volz offers the DA 15-N-ISS in 6, 12 and 28 VDC versions with PWM, RS-485, CAN or single-ended serial interfaces.

Volz also lists larger DA 22 and DA 26 actuators; the DA 26 flies on the Schiebel Camcopter S100, another unmanned helicopter. Brushless rotary servo-actuators from other suppliers, such as the Hitec brushless servo family, address similar flight-control roles on larger UAS.