The objective of this project is to develop and manufacture a test platform to evaluate the UAS at variable pitch angles. The platform must be designed to have a lightweight structure which can be mounted on a vehicle. It is also important that the air flow and the acoustic sound signature of the UAS must not be affected by the test platform or the vehicle which it is mounted to.
Hybrid UAS that incorporate the design features of fixed wing vehicles and rotor-craft do not require additional control surface to enter and exit the transition flight (the flight mode between hover and forward). The control system is simply offered by differential rotor thrust and the substantial ‘moment-arm’ between the rotors. However, such control systems require more attention as the interaction of rotors jet and wings can change the generated lift force during the transition and might cause loss of altitude.
Our approach of the project is to develop a lightweight test platform with a modular mounting system for testing on a vehicle or on the ground, and collect data using a 6-axis load cell and sensors for propeller RPM, thrust, torque, wing loads, noise, and temperatures on motors. All the experiments will be conducted on the small scale UAS model, identified by the name CRC10. The data will be analyzed to characterize the propeller and wing interactions as well as the acoustic noise performance.