23rd Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, 8-13 September, 2002, Toronto, Canada
Paper ICAS 2002-8.3.2

CAPTIVE CARRY TESTING AS A MEANS FOR RAPID EVALUATION OF UAV HANDLING QUALITIES

C. Munro (1), K. Krus (1), E. Llewellyn (2)
(1) Linköpings University, Sweden; (2) University of Bristol, UK

Keywords: conceptual design, stability and control, handling qualities

A preliminary evaluation has been made of a captive carry rig for testing handling qualities of small UAVs. The method used was to attach the vehicle such that it is free to rotate on a tripod above a car. Results indicate that the method is very suitable for evaluating aircraft trim and control surface effectiveness. The method is shown to provide repeatable, sufficiently accurate data to provide information regarding to aircraft stability and control at a preliminary design stage and at low cost. Further work is required to ascertain the ability to measure forces and moments such that derivatives can be estimated.

view full paper