Bell Eagle Eye vertical take-off UAV

January 13th, 2013   Filed under: predator uav, uav airplane, uav predator, uavs Add Comment

The Bell Eagle Eye TiltRotor UAV demonstrator had been developed to validate and also refine fundamental flying characteristics and also additionally functional performance properties of the lightweight model Tiltrotor with the possibility for long-term applications to VTOL UAV missions. Scaled Composites had been chosen to style and also also fabricate the composite layout for the two demonstrator airframes, most notably the landing gear, and also to incorporate Bell-supplied propulsion and flight control techniques.

uavs
A full size Bell Eagle Eye
Photo: helis.com

Due to Its twin specifications to each hover and also to launch as a traditional aircraft, the Eagle Eye needed a rather complex constructive arrangement. Its fuel turbine engine (the Allison C20) is mounted within The center body and also really is attached up to a pairing transmission. Disc drive shafts from all the incorporating transmission pass thru The center of the wing and also connect to transmissions at every each wingtip. The wingtips contain the transmission as well as as the actuator used to tilt the wingtip transmission and also rotor assemblies.

The cantilever wing container experiences really diverse constructive loading for the duration of hover and also conventional frontward flight. The extra challenge was actually to make the wingbox a fuel fish tank (wet wing), even while preserving the dried out condition of the transmission disc drive shaft conduits.

The composite sandwich fuselage presented three removable sections; the nose, centre portion and also tail. This became set up to permit for a reduction in general length during the course of transport and also space. The nose portion had been mounted upon hinges allowing effortless access to the avionics as well as other objective equipment. The center piece incorporated the wingbox, fuel tanks engine and also landing gear. Access to The center piece is right through the reduction of the entire top piece of the fuselage. The removable tail was actually attached through a straight forward handy screw sequence. The tail contains several antenna and also actuators for the pitch control surfaces. Every of the hard aspects and also mounts had been setup by Scaled and all of the system components such as the engine, transmissions, oil coolers, avionics, flight control techniques, flaps, and also control surfaces had been installed and also examined for clearance, interference and also easily fit into the fuselage structure before the vehicles happened to be delivered to Bell. Scaled Composites also manufactured and additionally integrated all of the landing gear components for each vehicles.

The structure ended up being in fact static load assessed with the customer’s involvement (and also for their satisfaction). Also available was training to teach Bell’s client (the U.S. Navy) regarding the composite structures utilized by Scaled.

Though the 1st vehicle was actually damaged in a powerful accident, the 2nd Eagle Eye demonstrator happens to be very successful, showing all of the flight stages from hover right through the transition, and also flew to around 165 KCAS in forward flight. The low-cost fast-paced demonstrator program was actually another highly showed demonstration of Scaled’s distinct capabilities.

What exactly are UAVs?

January 9th, 2013   Filed under: faa, predator uav, uav, uav airplane, uav predator, UAV related, uavs Add Comment

With all this talk about UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), you may be wondering; What exactly is a UAV? What qualifies it to be a UAV airplane, UAV helicopter, Micro UAV, or quad-copter. UAVs are commonly known as drones or an airplane without a pilot on board. The flight of the UAV is controlled primarily autonomously by computers in the UAV or under the remote control of an operator on the ground or in another vehicle. There’s tons of different types of UAVs, including different sizes, shapes, configurations, and characteristics. They are primarily deployed for military applications, however conjointly utilized in a small but growing variety of civil applications, like firefighting and nonmilitary security work, like surveillance of pipelines. UAVs are typically most popular for missions that are too ‘dull, dirty, or dangerous’ for manned craft.

barracuda ucav
An example UAV airplane (Barracuda UCAV)
Photo: trdefence.com

In the USA, the U.S. Navy and shortly after the Federal Aviation Administration has adopted the name unmanned aircraft (UA) aircraft craft systems with no flight crew on board. Some other common names include UAV, UAV airplane, drone, remotely piloted vehicle (RPV), remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), remotely operated aircraft (ROA), and for those “limited-size” (as outlined by the FAI) pilotless craft flown within the USA’s National Airspace System, flown alone for recreation and sport functions like models, which are typically flown beneath the voluntary safety standards of the Academy of Model aeronautics, the United States’ national aeromodeling organization. to control a UA for non-recreational functions within the us, users should acquire a Certificate of Authorization (CoA) to work in national airspace. Currently, COAs need a public entity as a sponsor. for instance, once BP needed to watch oil spills, they operated the Aeryon Scout UAV beneath a COA granted to the University of alaska Fairbanks. COAs are granted for each land and shipborne operations.

Because of this general approach UAS are not included within the U.S. Munitions List category VIII – airplanes and Associated equipment. Vice versa, the “Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems” are clearly mentioned at paragraph 121-16 Missile Technology control Regime Annex of the U.S. Munitions List. A more in depth explanation is that the Missile Technology control Regime Annex levels rocket and unmanned aerial vehicle systems together.

  Different terms used for defining UAVs include:

  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(s)

  • Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle(s)

  • Uninhabited Aircraft Vehicle

  • Unmanned Air Vehicle

  • Unmanned Airborne Vehicle

  • Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle

  • Unmanned Vehicle

  • Upper Atmosphere Vehicle