APRIL 29  2008
A 152.4 metre wingspan unmanned aerial vehicle is under design in the USA to stay aloft for up to 5 years cruising up to 27,432 metres gathering intelligence data and carrying out surveillance and communication missions without refuelling

Named Odysseus it is made up from 3 units of "constituent aircraft" - each a complete self-sufficient flying machine with a wingspan of approximately 50 metres

 
Once in the air the 3 separate units are joined together - in the event of one section needing maintenance it will 'undock' and be replaced with a new module

The position of the wings are adjustable in flight up to a 'Z' configuration allowing the maximum amount of solar energy to be collected from the sun during the day with storage batteries used for night flight

APRIL 28  2008
A 2-seat ultralight returning from a property inspection near Cooktown with a married couple from New South Wales on board apparently ran low on fuel due to strong headwinds and was forced into an emergency landing on the Cooktown Development Road but ended up impacting trees adjacent to the road

 
The 48 year-old husband received vapour burns to the lower half of his body from leaking fuel and was taken to hospital

The pilots 47 year-old wife was relatively uninjured and was discharged from hospital late yesterday