Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Part I

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Developing Unmanned Aircra Systems to benet Mankind.

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Unmanned Aircra Systems: Part 1

- Unmanned Aircra Part 1

InView IV-05 prior to take-o Overview Examples of some earlier unmanned aircra ... Advantages of the UA over a manned aircra Applica on space for Unmanned Aircra

Overview
The Unmanned Aircra System (UAS) consists of an Unmanned Aircra (UA) which is essen ally a robot plane togther with a Ground Control System (GCS). The Unmanned Aircra contains a ight control computer, precision naviga on (GPS and an Iner al Measurement Unit) and ight control electronics, a low vibra on engine (such as a Wankel engine)

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Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Part I

http://www.barnardmicrosystems.com/L2_unmanned_air_systems.htm

and a payload, such as a high resolu on camera. The UA represents a new, cost eec ve and more environmentally responsible approach to aerial reconnaissance and geophysical survey work. Any aerial applica on, in which the payload weighs less than an average adult male (say 85 Kgs, although the US military allows a worst casesoldier weight of 136 Kgs) could be performed less expensively and in a more environmentally friendly way, through the use of an Unmanned Air Vehicle. Unmanned Aircra have an historical military presence, in the form of the German V1 ying bomb of Second World War vintage, followed by the modern turbine-powered cruise missile, such as the US Tomahawk cruisemissile shown below, made by Raytheon. There are also some dierences between the V1, the cruise missile and the UAV: the Unmanned Aircra returns for reuse. The early civilian Unmanned Aircra was in essence a radio controlled aeroplane. return to top

Why is an Unmanned Aircra also called a Remotely Piloted Aircra ?

There is a growing realisa on that someone, called the "Pilot in Command", must always be in charge of an unmanned aircra , even when it is ying on autopilot, possibly beyond line of sight, following a predened set of GPS waypoints and performing tasks en route, such as taking photographs and / or measurements. The "Pilot in Command" must be able to terminate the ight at any stage of the ight, or command the unmanned aircra to return to base at any me during the ight. While the InView is within radio link, the aircra can be op onally piloted from the ground in Manual Flight Mode. Take-o and landing is typically performed in Manual Flight Mode. return to top

Examples of some earlier unmanned aircra

V1 "Flying Bomb"

Tomahawk cruise missile from www.raytheon.com

Characteris cs of the above vehicles

V1 Flying Bomb Raytheon Tomahawk An important parameter for military Unmanned Aircra is their endurance me, whereas a prime parameter for civilian Unmanned Aircra , especially those in use on survey work, is their range. For more interes ng informa on on the 1944 45 1983 - present history of Unmanned Aircra , see h p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_unmanned_aerial_vehicles

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The inexpensive Unmanned Aircra can criss-cross a region, or, repeatedly patrol an area, for up to 30 hours at a me, under computer control, day and night, under almost any weather condi on, in an environmentally sustainable manner. This makes it a compelling solu on for all manner of aerial reconnaissance and geophysical survey work. A comprehensive overview of Unmanned Aircra is provided in h p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_vehicle . return to top

Advantages of Unmanned Aircra over manned aircra

The UA can y day-a er-day, night-a er-night , in dangerous weather condi ons, for up to 30 hours at a me, on an accurate ight path, under computer control. Since Unmanned Aircra can follow a precise ight path, they can y close to each other to complete a survey in far less me than would be required for a manned aircra . An advantage in using several Unmanned Aircra is that an UA that develops a fault in any of its systems can be replaced by a back-up UA, ensuring the assigned task is always completed on me. Several Unmanned Aircra can also measure data in thesame loca on in a survey, to provide quality data, by removing any instrument dri or errors. It can y safely at low al tudes, enabling high resolu on aeromagne c mapping. Network Centric approach in which data from each UA in ight updates a server computer in real me, allowing users to view the latest informa on, via the Internet. It costs less to buy, to y, to operate, to land and to dispose of than a piloted plane The UA is more environmentally friendly: it is small, uses less fuel, creates less CO 2 and is less noisy: 16 g/km fuel for a UA vs 152 g/km for a Cessna Skylane. return to top

Applica on space for Unmanned Aircra

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http://www.barnardmicrosystems.com/L2_unmanned_air_systems.htm

Note the tremendous ight endurance for Unmanned Aircra . from h p://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/ncrst/mee ngs/20031202SBA-UAV2003/Presenta ons/Wegener1.pdf return to top

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