GAP-PT Meeting - 7 February 2003
GAP-PT meeting - 7 February 2003
Attendees:
Ramanathan
John Kosmatka
Greg Roberts
Eric Wilcox
Odelle Lariviere
Points discussed:
-- Kosmatka presented time scale of project. Highlights of schedule are:
aircraft design until late April; aircraft fabrication begins in the
beginning of April; Auto-Pilot development will occur from April through
July; and flight testing begins in July (see schedule for more details)
-- award from NSF not yet received
-- Kosmatka inquired about flight restrictions with the FAA.
- an 'air worthiness' stamp on the aircraft is necessary before
flights begin
- FAA recommends airport notification for flights less than 400
ft, but no permission is required
- Airport notification required for flights above 400 ft; however,
flight plans are ??not?? required.
- The ceiling for the UAV is 20000 ft to stay out of commercial
airspace.
- no restrictions for in-line-of-site flights
- a goal of GAP-PT is to perform coastal flights at altitudes less
than 12000 ft for initial testing.
- to avoid conflicts, the aircraft will flight at low altitudes
(less than 400 ft) for first 25 km before climbing to measurement
altitudes.
- wing design requires most effort and is 50% done - Greg/Jose are
working on fuselage layout.
- need to decide on engine
- landing gear from model aircraft will be used
- total aircraft weight will be ca. 35 lbs
- wing span 18 ft
- foam mock-up of plane starting next week. A full mock-up will also be
needed to test instrumentation
The fuselage will be compartmented into three sections; the front section
contains the instrumentation; the middle section comprises the fuel and
flight computer; and the aft section houses the engine. The instrument
compartment will be modular and may be removed and replaced with another
instrument package.
30 W supplied to onboard computer - 50 W supplied to instrumentation.
Weight should be kept as close to the wing center as possible (near the
center of gravity).
Other important issues regarding the instrumentation:
- a 50 W generator will be attached to the engine; its output is 28 VDC
for the instrumentation.
- foam core can be used to secure instruments
- separate grounding strip and power supplies for instruments and onboard
computer
- pitch angle is less that 1.5 degrees; yaw angle less than a couple of
degrees; 12 degree pitch during take off; max pitch is 16 degrees
- cruise velocity of aircraft is 36 m s-1; take off at 6.5 m s-1; and
maximum velocity is 47 m s-1
- fuslage will be ca. 20 cm diameter; and a bulb may be necessary for CCN
instrument (only for GAP-FM plane)
- aerosol inlet will manufactured from titanium and braced with a nose
cone as necessary
- The deployment of the pyranometers has the following priorities. 1)
Bi-directional pyranometers extend from the end of the wing; 2) separate
units are embedded at the end of the wings; 3) or on the fuselage. No
gyroscopic platform for GAP-PT aircraft. A balance weight to be added on
the other wing. Estimate weight for both pyranometers: 250 g.
- electronic cables should be shield, but no restrictions on material