Theiss Aviation
Theiss Aviation is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Salem, Ohio. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of unmanned aerial vehicles and at one time produced ultralight aircraft in the form of kits for amateur construction.
The president is Shawn Theiss and vice president is Richard Theiss. The chief test pilot is Thomas Zets.
History
The company was formed in 1991 to produce ultralight aircraft kits using a new inexpensive, light-weight construction technique. The company produced two 1930s-style replica designs for the homebuit market, the Theiss Speedster and the Theiss Sportster, which was introduced in 1998.As a result of these designs in 1998 the company was approached by the head of the Tactical Electronic Warfare Division's Offboard Countermeasures Vehicle Research Section, United States Naval Research Laboratory to produce UAVs for the US Navy. This resulted in the design of the Theiss Tarzan, which entered Naval service as the Dakota II.
The company stopped working on manned general aviation aircraft to concentrate entirely on UAVs. The company produces a series of UAVs, including the Theiss NIRV that is designed to resemble a soaring bird to conduct covert reconnaissance in urban and rural areas, with models that resemble a vulture, gull and hawk. The company also designs custom UAVs for customers.
Aircraft
| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
| Theiss Speedster | at least two | Single seat ultralight biplane | |
| Theiss Sportster | 1998 | at least one | Single seat ultralight biplane |
| Theiss Tarzan | 1998 | UAV | |
| Theiss NIRV | small bird-like UAV | ||
| Theiss Ferret | small UAV | ||
| Theiss Super Ferret | small UAV | ||
| Theiss TIC | micro UAV |