Development of flying wing UAVs

University Lower Danube- Center of Excellence in

Research
Reev River Aerospace-Advanced Technology
Research Group

Few historical points

Soviet BICh-3, German Horten H-1,
HO-229
UAV study financed 6 months study by
UK Ministry of Defense 180K USD
Initial designers: Northrop Grumman,
Alexander Lippisch, Horten and
Eshelman

Why flying wings?

Simplicity and robustness
Aerodynamically efficient
Excellent gliding ratios
Maneuverability at a click
Higher and flexible payload capability
Easy operation take-off/flight/landing
No special field take-off/landing field
required

Flying wing headaches?

Sensitive to balancing
Need different airfoils than standard
airplanes
Pusher/Puller motor?
Sweep, geometrical planform, wing
loading vs. speed and wind operation

Phoenix 1-portable mini-UAV

Electric propulsion
Wingspan 1.2m
Payload: 700grame
Max. speed: 100km/h
Max. altitude: 3500m
Autonomy: 40minute
Negligible IR/radar/acoustic signature

Phoenix 2-medium portable UAV

Combustion propulsion
Wingspan 1.7m
Payload: 2kg
Max. speed: 220km/h
Max. altitude: 4500m
Autonomy: 60-120minutes
Negligible IR/radar/acoustic signature

Phoenix 3- portable UAV

Electric propulsion
Wingspan 2m
Payload: 2.5kg
Max. speed: 80km/h
Max. altitude: 4500m
Autonomy: 45minute
Detachable in 2 segments for easier
transportation
Negligible IR/radar/acoustic signature

Few words on autopilot

Inertial unit; inertial estimation for wind
Dead-reckoning capability for up to 10
minutes- civilian version
Direction angle matrix based
Full PID loops tuned specifically for
each wing
Full control on elevators, throttle and
other 5 different channels (e.g.: camera
axis, zoom etc.)

How does it really work?

1 k 1
2

1
1 k

k 1
1
k 1

1
1 k

1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2

Right member of equation

d f( )
d

alfa=Ae/At
k=1.4

satisfies:

Lambda
alfa=5
alfa=2.5
alfa=1.67
alfa=1.25
alfa=1.0

0.8
0.6

Hence, equation does not converge.

We use Newton-Raphson interative
method:

0.4
0.2
0

i 1

f ( i)
i
d f( )
1
d
i

0.5

1.5

Some more work

;

2 a1

f ( ) c1 (1 b1 )

2 a1 1

f ( ) 2a1b1c1 (1 b1 )

Finally an iterative method can be formulated:

i 1

2 a1
c
(
1
b
i
1
1 i)
1 2a1b1c1 i (1 b1 2i )a1

Guidance laws in general form:

~
V

~
~
aVV V aVp p bVm ox m
ox

~
aV V a
~
aVp V a p

~
a p p bm ox m
ox
~
a pp p bpm ox m
ox

Example of robustness/fiability
PHOENIX 1 has been
operated successfully for ~ 4
years
It has been operated on 3
continents: North America
(Louisiana/Florida), Europe
(Spain, Romania, SweedenKiruna - past the Arctic
Circle), Asia (India)
Temperature and humidity
varied greatly during the
operation lifetime due to
large geographical dispersion
(from -30 degrees Celsius to
+35-38 degrees Celsius)

Video-On Screen Display

Video is streamed real-time
Flight parameters are:
altitude, speed, GPS
coordinates,
heading/distance to HOME
defined base as well as
other up-to 8 parameters
that can be configured
depending on the
application
Flight parameters are also
shown in real-time with
high measurement
resolution using advanced
Kalman filtering

Ground station

The ground station is portable and

can be configured in different
modes depending on the
operational requirements stated by
the client
Rugged/high autonomy tablet PC
runs custom designed ground
station software that is used for realtime visualization and recording
(video & flight data), firmware
configuration for on screen display
and post-flight analysis of the data
Video receiver with high fidelity
antennas package, adapted for the
mission, built on two high mobility
tripods offers maximum portability
for the ground station with minimum
deployment time (2-3 minutes).
Antennas switching capability can be
included for maximum performance.
Standard ground station can be
used in high/low temperature and
high/low humidity environments. (-30
to +50 degrees Celsius). Extended
operation range can be offered.

Ground station- general setup

Advantages of flying wing

airframe

Simple operation: hand launched, landing on

natural surfaces (grass, concrete, land etc.),
extremely short deployment time
Very simple maintenance
Efficient construction and high robustness together
with unequaled low cost (low prices) gives a high
quality non-expensive surveillance solution
High portability
High maneuverability for specific missions
High aerodynamic efficiency compared with
classical airplane airframe. We use proprietary
flying wing airfoils developed in years of theoretical
and experimental testing specifically for flying wings

Characteristics:

Visual range and beyond visual range flight (video flight or

flight using a map and autopilot)
Real-time video streaming and recording for fast in-flight
analysis and detailed post-flight analysis
Advanced telemetry system (high performance flight
parameters)
Active stabilization system (UAV is self-stabilized with NO
input from operator)
Auto-pilot for autonomous flight
Flight formations (strong/weak coupled)
Payload and range can be adapted depending on the mission
requirements

Thank you!