Boeing PhantomEye UAV Begins Flight Test

That big lakebed out in the Antelope Valley continues to be the go-to location for large UAV testing.  The link below carries very little details about the test objectives or results, but the video clip is interesting.  The plane launched from a dolly and once airborne had no visible landing gear.  Presumably it lands on a set of retractable skids as shown in an early concept drawing, but that's only a guess.  What I found interesting was that there was no discernable movement of the horizontals prior to liftoff.  That tells me that the plane was already trimmed for takeoff and some kind of downlocks were simply released to initiate the launch.

(Art Credit: Boeing, via coolnewstuff.com)

http://www.military.com/video/aircraft/pilotless-aircraft/first-test-flight-for-mega-drone/1674586993001/