Candidate Team Concepts
AAE 451: Team 2
January 25, 2004
Michael Caldwell
Jeff Haddin
Asif Hossain
James Kobyra
John McKinnis
Kathleen Mondino
Andrew Rodenbeck
Jason Tang
Joe Taylor
Tyler Wilhelm
Concept 1
Figure 1 is a pictorial representation of the Mad Menace. The Mad Menace is a three fuselage, canard design with special consideration for slow flight. The most prominent feature is the large wing. With slow speeds anticipated a large wing area will be crucial for sufficient lift. The canard, winglets and wheel covers give the stylish edge requested by our customer. The rudder surfaces are large and placed far forward of the approximated center of gravity to provide sufficient yaw control. Three fuselages definitely give a distinctive look. The center fuselage will mainly be a mount for the engine and possibly some avionics. The outer fuselages extend the distance between the rudders and the center of gravity, and will also store battery cells. Placing the cells in varying distances in these fuselages will give more control over CG placement. This will be a great concern as the CG should be ahead of the center of lift; this should be approximately just ahead of the main wing. At the same time the CG must be far enough behind the rudders for their effectiveness. The landing gear design is a semi-conventional tailwheel. Two main gear extend very near the front of the aircraft, but there are two ‘tail’ wheels off of each outer fuselage. In theory this would solve ground controllability issues inherent to single tailwheel designs. Also, since the engine will be between all landing gear, it would be very difficult to have a prop strike.
Concept 2
Figure 2 is a pictorial representation of the Dragonfly. The Dragonfly design has a large aspect ratio wing and a large V-tail. The control of yaw and pitch can be accomplished with rudder-elevators. Since the wing and the tail are much closer together the moment of the tail is reduced and consequently the size of the tail must be comparable to that of the wing. This compliments the dragonfly-like appearance of the aircraft. The effect can be completed by extending a thin carbon fiber tube out the back for the dragon-fly tail. The dragon-fly tail is also functional in that precise control of the longitudinal position of the center of gravity can be achieved by adjusting the length of the tail slightly. The aerodynamic performance of this design can be excellent since the aspect ratio is large. Internal systems can be configured conventionally as well. The landing gear should be tri-cycle to avoid dragging the tail. This will also serve to create the appearance of the insect’s legs protruding from the thorax. An appropriate paint job will complete the dragon-fly like appearance.
Concept 3
Figure 3 is a pictorial representation of the SemiSphere. The SemiSphere is an aircraft designed out of flat plate airfoils in semi-circular shapes. This design is structurally stable due to its small size. The aircraft has been designed with “breakability” in mind. When it hard lands the tail, servos, and motor will simply disconnect from the aircraft and should therefore sustain little to no damage. The flat plate airfoils will be easy to reproduce and are cheap to build; therefore, replacements will be on hand. The extreme mobility of the aircraft will outweigh the fact that it will require high speeds for flight (it will easily be able to demonstrate flight in Mollenkopf). Finally, although the SemiSphere will present a challenge to inexperienced RC pilots it is flyable and will also be enjoyable for aerobatic pilots.
Figure 1: Mad Menace Conceptual Sketch
Figure 2: Dragonfly Conceptual Sketch
Figure 3: SemiSphere Conceptual Sketch