Flying Qualities Specifications and Design Standards for Unmanned Air Vehicles

Abstract

An increasing number of unmanned air vehicle (UAV) systems are being developed for use by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The adequate design and development of UAV platforms is crucial to future fleet operations. Flying qualities standards and criteria are currently deficient for UAVs and rely heavily on manned air vehicle standards and guidance. UAV specific missions, tasking, and payload requirements warrant development of new standards and criteria. Inadequate flying qualities specifications for UAVs may lead to reduced operational effectiveness, high loss rates, increased development cost and delays, and unnecessary design requirements. Typical guidance used in developing UAV platform system specifications for flying qualities has been MIL-F-8785, MIL-HDBK-1797, MIL- HDBK-516, and ADS-33-PRF. These documents, developed as manned specifications, are correlated to pilot comfort and abilities, and have not been updated to address UAV specific needs and requirements. Current UAV specifications do not take into account sensor and payload mission requirements, and changes in basic flying qualities criteria that would allow more flexibility to the UAV designer without compromising airworthiness or mission performance. For example, traditional stall warning devices that ensure safe margin for pilots could be replaced with requirements for sensors and software that recognize and recover from upset conditions when they occur. Modifications to the existing manned flying qualities specifications go well beyond removing requirements for stick force gradients, but delve into the basic stability and control requirements of the airborne system itself. A UAV design should be aided, not hampered, by the more than 100 years of manned aviation history, to reach its full potential for mission performance. This paper briefly assesses the contents of the various fixed wing flying qualities specifications, identifies certain deficiencies with respect to UAVs, and proposes the development of new flying qualities criteria, specifications, and design standards specific to UAV platforms. Additionally, this paper identifies key research areas for the future.