Engineering Commons^™

Pitch Dynamics Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, W. F. Phillips, Doug F. Hunsaker, N. R. Alley, R. J. Niewoehner

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Dynamic stability requirements for manned aircraft have been in place for many years. However, we cannot expect stability constraints for UAVs to match those for manned aircraft; and dynamic stability requirements specific to UAVs have not been developed. The boundaries of controllability for both remotely-piloted and auto-piloted aircraft must be established before UAV technology can reach its full potential. The development of dynamic stability requirements specific to UAVs could improve flying qualities and facilitate more efficient UAV designs to meet specific mission requirements. As a first step to developing UAV stability requirements in general, test techniques must be established that …