Chinese researchers last month successfully flew a fixed-wing drone with bamboo-based composite wings in Tianjin, marking a new step towards greener, lower-cost aircraft materials.
Chinese researchers fly an 8ft bamboo-wing drone.Beihang University.
The team claims that the unmanned aerial vehicle is more than 20% lighter than comparable carbon-fibre models and can reduce structural costs by more than 20%. The announcement was reported by China’s state news agency Xinhua.
The drone was jointly developed by the International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan, Beihang University’s Ningbo Innovation Research Institute, and Long Bamboo Technology Group.
The aircraft has a wingspan of 2.5m and weighs about 17kgs. It can take off and land vertically, cruise at speeds above 100km/h, and remain airborne for more than one hour.
Lighter airframe at lower cost
According to the research team, the bamboo-based composite material replaces traditional carbon fibre cloth, which is widely used in the drone industry. Carbon fibre offers high strength but requires high energy consumption to produce and is difficult to degrade.
The new bamboo composite costs about one-quarter the price of standard carbon fibre cloth. Researchers said this price difference allows the overall structural cost of a drone to fall by more than 20%. The aircraft is also more than 20 percent lighter than similar drones made from lightweight, high-strength carbon fibre.
More than 25% of the drone’s structure is made from bamboo-based composite materials. The fuselage skin is constructed from this material, making it the first fixed-wing UAV in the world to use bamboo at that scale, according to the centre.
Meeting strict aviation standards
Project lead Qin Daochun said the development process required careful testing and refinement. “Bamboo-based composite materials for drones not only need to meet stringent mechanical performance requirements, but also need to overcome a series of technical challenges such as moulding processes and environmental adaptability,” Qin told Xinhua.
Qin, who also serves as the director of the bamboo centre, said the team conducted more than 100 experiments guided by airworthiness standards. These tests focused on strength, toughness, and the material’s ability to be shaped and formed into aircraft components.
Qin said the final bamboo-based composite combines high strength, high toughness, and excellent formability, meeting airworthiness standards. Researchers also streamlined the process from selecting raw bamboo to manufacturing the drone’s outer skin.
Flight tests reported by China Green Times showed that the drone met the required standards for mechanical strength, elastic modulus, endurance, flight stability, and shock resistance.
Expanding into China’s low-altitude economy
The team sees the aircraft as a stepping stone for broader applications in China’s fast-growing low-altitude economy. This sector includes drones used for logistics, agriculture, and environmental services.
Lian Jianchang, chairman of Long Bamboo Technology Group, told Xinhua that the company would focus on the lightweight, green, and biodegradable characteristics of bamboo. He said he expected the drone’s applications to expand to the low-altitude economy, new energy vehicles, and marine equipment, among other fields.
According to China Green Times, bamboo-based drones could support forest fire prevention, plant protection, ecological monitoring, geographic surveying, and delivery services.
Experts interviewed by Xinhua also suggested that the material could extend beyond drones to small-satellite structural components and lightweight spacecraft shells due to its strength, stiffness, and vibration-reduction properties.