Rubb Buildings touch down at Farnborough International Airshow with new UAV Hangar Design

Rubb Buildings Ltd will be showcasing a new UAV hangar design at Farnborough International Airshow.

Following direct feedback from military and aviation clients and end users, Rubb found there was a significant demand for a smaller sized hangar with a wide opening to allow Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in and out of the building.

EFASS UAV Hangar

The new EFASS UAV hangar provides many advantage points including:

• Low ratio of internal volume to volume of UAV – easier and more cost effective to power (electrics, HVAC)
• Designed to suit military loadings (100kg/m2 snow loading and 41.6m/s effective wind speed)
• Rapid building times with minimal use of machinery to aid construction
• Fully relocatable and will fit into containers for transport and storage
• Lightweight to aid air transportation
• The building can easily be adapted to make it longer to store more aircraft
• The gable end configurations can also be adapted to suit the access/ egress requirements of the aircraft storage arrangement.

The 23m span x 12m long aluminium framed UAV POD is the seventh hangar to be introduced to Rubb’s Expeditionary Forces Aircraft Shelter System (EFASS) range.

Managing Director Ian Hindmoor said: “We have been listening to the requirements of our clients and the result is the new UAV POD. We are proud to be highlighting our R&D and latest product from the EFASS range at Farnborough International Airshow.”

Visitors to the airshow can meet the Rubb team and find out more about this and other defence and aerospace hangar projects at the Aerospace in Cornwall stand (Hall 1, Stand C9) at Farnborough International Airshow from Monday July 14th until Friday July 18th 2014.

Research and development at Rubb indicated the current largest UAV in use is the MQ-9 Reaper. The reaper is a medium-to-high altitude, long endurance Remotely Piloted Air System (RPAS). Dimensions of the Reaper are as follows:

Wingspan: 20.1m
Length: 11.0m
Height: 3.8m

Design Philosophy

The Rubb UAV building consists of faceted arch type frames spaced at 4m centres. Each frame is made up of straight aluminium sections with steel inserts at joint positions. The frames are further stiffened by three steel tie elements. The rigid frames give the building stability in the transverse direction.

Each main frame is connected to its neighbour by a series of tubular aluminium purlins. In each end module there is an arrangement of bracing members to give the building longitudinal stability.

Rubb adapted its standard ‘Heli-Door’ system to provide the required large opening for the UAV to enter and exit the building. The building is clad using a series of PVC coated tension membrane panels, which are continuously connected at each frame position.