An aircraft system includes a fuselage, a motor supported by the fuselage, a propeller coupled to the motor, and a fuel cell-based power generator 200 supported within the fuselage. In a first aspect a satellite communication system is coupled to the fuel cell system. In a second aspect, the system also includes a hydrogen generator 225, a water exchanger 250 and a water-cooled fuel cell heat exchanger 245 supported within the fuselage. The fuel cell preferably includes a cathode loop 240 configured to provide oxygen to the cathode, an anode loop 230 configured to provide hydrogen generated by the hydrogen generator to the anode, and an electrical connector coupled to the fuel cell to provide electricity generated by the fuel cell to the motor. In a further aspect, a method comprises generating power for an aircraft system via a fuel cell based power generator, providing that power to the aircraft system and cooling a fuel cell and a hydrogen generator of the fuel cell based power generator via air flow generated by the aircraft system. This arrangement is useful for powering long range unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones.
Long endurance fuel cell-based power source
2021-12-15
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
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