1. The Flight Characteristics ofThe Flight Characteristics of
Unmanned Aircraft SystemsUnmanned Aircraft Systems
Presentation created by
Leonid Sopizhenko
student of SE 107 group
2. Introduction
Development of unmanned air vehicles has been greatly
accelerated in the past decade. Major aerospace
organizations have seen the flexibility of application of such
vehicles in a military or battle field situations. This will
inevitably do away with the high casualties associated with
conflict scenarios.
There are three groups of UAV:
1. High altitude and long endurance (HALE).
2. Medium altitude and long endurance (MALE).
3. Tactical role referred to as TUAV.
3. UAVs TypesUAVs Types
Target and decoyTarget and decoy - providing ground and aerial gunnery a- providing ground and aerial gunnery a
target that simulates an enemy aircraft or missiletarget that simulates an enemy aircraft or missile
ReconnaissanceReconnaissance - providing battlefield intelligence- providing battlefield intelligence
CombatCombat - providing attack capability for high-risk missions- providing attack capability for high-risk missions
Research and developmentResearch and development - used to further develop- used to further develop
UAV technologies to be integrated into field deployed UAVUAV technologies to be integrated into field deployed UAV
aircraftaircraft
Civil and Commercial UAVsCivil and Commercial UAVs - UAVs specifically designed- UAVs specifically designed
for civil and commercial applicationsfor civil and commercial applications
4. Flight characteristics of
UAVs
Flight characteristics of UAVs typically divided by several
groups:
1)Flight control
2)Navigation
3)Propulsion
4)Payloads
5)Launch and recovery
6)Communication
7)Air traffic management
5. Flight control
Typically a UAV is operated by:
1- A flight control (designated pilot).
2- A payload control (sensor operator).
3- A command control (mission controller).
4- A maintenance control (ground crew).
6. Navigation
Unmanned air vehicles usually incorporate global
positioning satellite (GPS) systems for navigation. These
systems use pre-programmed way points which can be
modified by the mission controller allowing for quick and
effective mission changes. Such a system however suffers
from the need for 3-d digital maps of the global terrain
which itself can be a technological barrier.
8. Propulsion
Piston or electric engines are commonly observed on
UAV’s. Turboprop and turbojet engines are more suited to
HALE and MALE types of UAV. There are new innovations
in the area of UAV propulsion especially focused on
improving UAV endurance. Such innovations for example,
regenerative fuel cells, solar and nuclear power are
envisaged to give long operational life for the UAV’s.
9. Scheme of turbojet engine
The fuel-air mixture is injected into the combustion chamber,
where it is a constant burning. Formed during combustion gas
under very high pressure is released through the nozzle
outwards, creating the reactive power and causing the rocket
motor, and with it the rocket to move in the opposite direction.
10. Payloads
Most aircraft payloads can also be carried by UAV’s. The
restrictions here more to a scaling problem the size of the
payload and the corresponding availability of a UAV to
transport it. For TUAV’s miniaturization of payloads has
already been researched where payloads have been
appropriately scaled down. Micro-UAV’s are currently being
research for military use.
11. Launch and recovery
A runway or flat open site is used for both the launch and
recovery of HALE and MALE types of UAV. In such cases
no pre-flight assembly of the UAV is required. For TUAV’s
a RATO (rocket assisted) system or a catapult system
(from a rail) is used for take-off. The recovery of such
UAV’s is performed using an airbag or parachute. Other
methods of launching UAV’s include air launching from
under an aircraft wing, helicopter launching or even VTOL
(vertical take-off and landing).
12. For large UAVs we must use special
catapult.Also for little UAVs we can
use catapult or launch it with help of
special slingshot or manually
13. Communication
Modern day UAVs use dedicated control link interfaces
between vehicle and operator controller. This may include
satellite UHF (or Ku) bands for both long range and short
range.A failure mode has to be built into the UAV to allow
for control link failure and enabling it to operate
autonomous if required.
The Ku band is the 12–18 GHz portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of
frequencies.
The C band is the 4-8 GHz portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies.
15. Air Traffic Management
The issue of air traffic management for UAV’s lags well
behind the actual developments and capabilities of the
UAV’s. As such there are no rules which have been
exclusively specified for UAV air traffic management. The
UAV’s themselves have been built to a high quality
standard
16. Conclusions
The future of UAV’s definitely looks bright and eventful. Given
the current conflicts worldwide, UAV’s have a definite part to play
from a military perspective. The rest of the world however
contributes very little to UAV research and development. It is
expected that the military will hence drive the UAV requirements
for 20-30 years before a shift to the civilian sector.
