Aircraft refers to an aircraft with a specific gravity that is lighter than air and relies on atmospheric buoyancy to take off. It mainly includes three categories: tethered balloons, high-altitude balloons and airships.

On March 19, the KX15 model tethered balloon developed by Qilu Aerospace Information Research Institute was applied at the site of the 500 kV delivery project acceptance and elimination of a UHV converter station in Tai'an, Shandong. This is the first time that aerospacers have been applied to the field of power infrastructure construction in China.

The 500 kV transmission project of the Dongping UHV converter station is the largest investment line project in Shandong Power's history. As the connection line between the converter station and the Shandong Power Grid, the project has entered the last moment of acceptance and elimination, with large operating areas, many risk points, and large number of personnel. In the past, safety management personnel used telescope observations and drone patrols to supervise. Due to the limitations of distance, perspective, and battery life, it was difficult to fully control the complex operation conditions on and under the tower. The application of aerospace devices can give full play to the advantages of high precision, large scope and long battery life, and build a comprehensive and multi-level three-dimensional control system on the tower and under tower to solve problems such as multi-faceted and wide-ranging power operation sites, complex environment, and difficulty in control on tower operations.

It is understood that the KX15 model has a tethered balloon volume of 159 cubic meters and a maximum load of 75 kilograms. It only takes 4 people to complete the on-site deployment, which has many advantages.

First, it has high monitoring accuracy and is equipped with professional-grade cameras, which have functions such as all-direction rotation, visible light and infrared switching, visible light zoom, infrared zoom, etc. Taking the lift-off altitude of 150 meters as an example, you can see clearly the personnel within a radius of 5 kilometers, and monitor more than 10 operating points at the same time.

The second is that the control range is large. The maximum lift-off height of this model is 300 meters. The coverage range can reach a radius of 36 kilometers when the height is 100 meters, effectively solving the management and control problems such as multi-point construction and crossing complex environments during power infrastructure.

The third is that the battery life is long. The power supply and transmission signals are provided through the cable connection. The equipment can last more than 7 days in a single continuous air space, far exceeding the battery life of ordinary drones. It is the operating platform with the longest fixed-point residence time in the air and can meet the long-term construction requirements of power infrastructure projects.

It is understood that Qilu Aerospace Information Research Institute focuses on the development and application of tethered balloons. The maximum load capacity of the product can reach 1,800 kg, the maximum liftoff height is 5,000 meters, and the maximum coverage radius is 252 kilometers. It can meet the monitoring needs of low-altitude defense, ground observation, meteorological and hydrology, disaster warning and other fields.

(Reporter Qin Wenming and Li Bingchan of the General Station)