Primary Trainer Aircraft Conversion to UAV Configuration

Abstract

Multiple uses and missions of any newly designed aircraft would be beneficial to increase its market as it offers the manufacturers opportunities to sell more units of it; therefore, the designers develop their aircraft in a way to increase the company market-share according to continuously changing customer expectations by designing a multi-missionvehicle. In this paper a typical light aircraft (Safat01), which is being produced in Sudan, will be analyzed from the point of view of its configuration, aerodynamic characteristics and the internal space offered by cross-section of fuselage to integrate the desirable payload to determine aircraft suitability to the new mission(s). Safat01 is a primary training aircraft which is intended to be converted to unmanned vehicle for the purpose of mining exploration, a new critical economical issue arising in the country nowadays. Consequently, a comprehensive analysis of its configuration and disposition ofmain parts of it such as wing, fuselage, etc. is very important – rather crucial - for developing it. The approach used in this research relies upon exploring the capabilities and geometrical characteristics of Safat01 and then comparing it with similar desirable mission UAVs. The 3D CATIA model of the aircraft has been used in the geometrical characteristics analysis. Standard design considerations have been used for analyzing the aircraft configuration. Initial results indicated the suitability of Safat01 for the new mission because of its good performance and handling qualities which are the results of the good configuration. The aircraft has shown acceptable characteristics to be used for the intended mission.