Team Members
Zachary Brown, Jacob Cornell, Jacob Glenn, Aaron Marek, Jarrett Seiler, Carl Wisniewski, Cotton Yarborough, Jonathan Abi Daoud
Abstract
In EAS4710, Aerospace Design II, Design Group 1 developed a low size weight and power, remote control aircraft to study the application of fluid dynamics and solid mechanics taught at the University of Florida. This lightweight plane was designed to operate at forty miles per hour in order to comfortably complete an approximately three-mile flight course in under six minutes. Design began with initial estimation of the UAV characteristics and a study of the main aerodynamic lifting body: the wing. After down selection, NACA4412 airfoils were used on a 3.6 foot wingspan, twisted, and dihedral wing to improve without sacrificing the aircraft’s static stability. Further geometric design decisions for the fuselage, horizontal tail, and vertical tail were chosen to compliment the wing design and provide as much stability as possible rather than to maximize lift or minimize drag. The propulsion system of the aircraft was designed such that the 10 x 5.5 inch propeller and Tempest 2820 motor could achieve our safe flight condition of a 0.5:1 ratio at 48% of max throttle and up to a full four pounds of thrust at just under 90% of maximum throttle. Landing gear was iterated on after runway tests and an initial test flight to use a tail dragger configuration rather than a tricycle set-up. The first version of this aircraft was manufactured using single layer PLA prints with supporting spars/ribs and then assembled using epoxy. A test flight of this prototype validated much of the design process conducted up to this point. Several design changes were implemented after a crash including a 50% increase in wingspan, 40% increase in vertical tail planform area, and implementation carbon fiber reinforced polymer. The manufacturing, assembly, and flight testing of this second iteration UAV is currently underway.