Quick Estimates for Analysis and Prediction of the Flight Mechanics of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are commonly employed in undergraduate engineering curricula. Limited literature is, however, available for the lay design engineer or engineering student regarding the modelling, simulation and analysis of the flight dynamics of small UAV systems, especially pertaining to flight dynamics modelling. There is great demand for unskilled UAV designers to predict the stability of new designs, quickly, cheaply, and with relative ease, preferably during the conceptual design stage. This paper summarizes some salient techniques for performing quick characterization of the longitudinal dynamics of a small, electrically propelled UAV, by using freely available software such as Datcom+, AVL, XFLR5 and MotoCalc. The simulation outputs compare favourably with experimental results from a wind tunnel. The software was also used to provide accurate estimates of coefficients required for performing an analysis of the UAV's longitudinal dynamics. The proffered analytical techniques should greatly benefit lay design engineers and engineering students venturing into the realm of UAV research.