Having carved out a reputation in the military field for high-performance actuators, auxiliary power units and other power/motion systems, Bental Industries is to take its expertise into the commercial field. This move was sparked by the takeover of Bental by environmental control system specialist TAT Technologies. Together, the companies are offering integrated auxiliary power unit/environmental control systems as turnkey solutions for the commercial aviation world.

Bental’s APUs are small in size but high in performance, able to operate from 60,000 to 120,000 rpm. They have applications in a wide range of commercial aircraft, from business jets to widebodies. The company also manufactures a range of actuators, and has developed a combined starter-alternator that uses one unit to perform both tasks, with a consequent savings in weight and volume requirement.

Also on show here at Le Bourget is Bental’s proven MicroBat miniature surveillance payload. The MicroBat is the world’s smallest stabilized system family, and can be carried by unmanned aerial vehicles in the 5 to 10 kilogram class. MicroBat is a sealed unit, remaining watertight at depths of just over six feet. This allows it to be used on small unmanned underwater and surface vehicles.

This week the MicroBat is being shown for the first time on the Innocon Micro Falcon UAV, and has been integrated as the payload of choice for this vehicle. In UAVs of this class the payload is normally mounted in the nose, but on the Micro Falcon it is belly-mounted, giving an unobstructed hemispherical view beneath the vehicle.