This item which was first thought to be a tail plane from perhaps a civil type, was identified from numbers and a manufacturing plate by ARGOS member Mark Sheldon as a Falconette target drone mainplane from the Falconette II Drone produced from the early 1980s, how it came to be on the beach is anyone`s guess, it may have been wedged in a cliff for many years, it is obviously from a used target and damage shows what appears to be bullet holes.

 

Above:  The mainplane of the falconette being examined by ARGOS members Dave Earl and Magnus Ritch, the wing is filled with foam padding, presumably a weight aspect?  Photo: Dave Ramsey.  

 

Above:  (Top left) Mainplane.  (Top Right)  Part numbers and Inspector stamp.  and above is the manufacturers plate `Flight Refuelling Ltd - Wimborne,England`. Photo: Dave Ramsey.

Above:  Burwick Bay S.Ronalday from the church looking towards the pier.   Photo: Dave Earl.

 

Below is some information found  regarding this drone. Note: all this information is from the internet and de-classified and in the public domain.

BRITISH FLIGHT REFUELING (FRL) FALCONET

A popular British target is the Flight Refueling (FRL) "Falconet", which has some similarities to the Beech Streaker, though is only about half the weight. The Falconet is designed for low cost of purchase and operation.

The original Falconet was developed in the 1980s and introduced in 1986, and success of the target led to development of an improved "Falconet II". The Falconet II has straight mid-mounted wings, a conventional tail arrangement, and a Microturbo TRS 18-242 turbojet engine with 1.62 kN (165 kgp / 360 lbf) thrust mounted in an underbelly pod. It is launched by twin RATO boosters or a pneumatic catapult. The original Falconet also had an interesting "rotary launch" scheme, in which it was tethered to a rotating hub to build up speed on the ground until it lifted off and was released, something like a control-line model airplane. However, the rotary launch scheme implies fixed-site operation and most customers have required mobile operations, so for the time being FRL is not offering rotary launch for the Falconet II.

The drone is recovered with a cruciform parachute and has a crushable nose to take up the shock of impact. The wingtips are also easily replaced. It has a programmable autopilot with GPS-INS navigation and radio control backup.

   FRL FALCONET II:

   _____________________   _________________   _______________________

 

   spec                    metric              english

   _____________________   _________________   _______________________

 

   wingspan                3.1 meters          10 feet 2 inches

   length                  3.8 meters          12 feet 6 inches

   height                  4.9 meters          4 feet 11 inches

   empty weight            160 kilograms       352 pounds

   launch weight           275 kilograms       606 pounds

 

   maximum speed           778 KPH             483 MPH / 420 KT

   service ceiling         9,000 meters        29,500 feet

   endurance               25 to 75 minutes, depending on configuration

 

   launch scheme           RATO or pneumatic catapult.

   recovery scheme         Parachute.

   guidance system         Autopilot with GPS, and radio control.

   _____________________   _________________   _______________________

 

The target can carry an optional payload pod with four possible configurations:

• A "general purpose" pod that can be loaded with customer-specific payloads.
• A chaff-flare dispenser pod.
• An RF jammer pod for battlefield operations.
• An auxiliary fuel tank with a capacity of about 40 liters (10.5 US gallons).

 

  

Above:  A drawing showing the Falconette drone.

Below:  A Falconette being launched from a ground firing position.

 

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