UAV's Basics and Designs

Owned by David Sebastian Acosta Ruiz (Deactivated)
2021-03-05
3 min read

Aspects to consider of a UAV plane:

  • The maneuverability is limited as needs to always be moving forward

  • Need of wings and airfoils to create lift

  • Provides a higher potential of payload capacity

  • In case of engine failure, there exists a probability to land with minimal aircraft damage

Common UAV Designs:

Delta Wing

Characteristics:

  • Simple design, most popular

  • Simple and rudimentary frame

    • It can be made of foam

    • Uses a basic Kline-Fogleman Airfoil

  • Two control surfaces, all turns are banked

  • Propeller is commonly found at the rear

  • The camera can be placed at the front

  • Usually for higher speeds

Motorized Sailplane / Glider

 

Characteristics:

  • To remain in the air as long as possible

  • Mid-wing or high wing design

  • T or V-shaped tail

  • Often slow flights

  • Not great to carry great amounts of payload

  • The propeller is mounted at the front

Skywalker

Characteristics:

  • “Pusher“ design where the propeller is mounted behind the wings

  • Tail support is mounted below the propeller level for no interference

  • Tapered or straight wing shape

  • As the propeller is at the rear, the camera can be placed at the front

  • Easy for hand launching

  • Good design as:

    • can hold an effective payload capacity

    • can travel at a decent speed

    • provides a decent flight time

    • offers the greatest versatility

Conventional

Characteristics:

  • The propeller is mounted at the front

  • Straight leading / trailing edge (rectangular) wing shape

  • It is not the easiest design to work to include a camera

Non-Standard

Characteristics:

  • Almost similar to an inverted delta plane

  • The wings have a forward-swept configuration

  • The propeller is mounted at the rear

Materials for Construction

Expanded Polyolefin (EPO)

  • Light type of foam

  • Stiff and tougher than EPS

  • Can be molded to be quite smooth

  • In case of a crash, the foam will compress and if there is enough force, it will break along in the weakest areas

  • If the crash is not severe, the parts can be easily glued back together

Expanded Polypropylene (EPP)

  • A flexible type of foam

  • Slightly heavier than EPO

  • Almost indestructible

Expanded Polystyrene (EPS)

  • Type of foam

  • Normally used for packaging

  • Contains ~95-98% air

Balsa Wood

  • Incredibly lightweight properties

  • Decently rigid and easily cut wood

  • Used to build frames, wings, and tail

  • Extreme care needed while using for construction

  • Significant crashes result in a complete loss

Blow Mold Plastic

  • This involves a closed mold process where a semi-molten plastic is blown and then cooled in order to retain the mold’s shape

  • The result is a durable hollow shell

  • Most used to create the fuselage

  • Can withstand low force impacts and tends to dent as opposed to shatter

Vacuumed Plastic

  • Its process involves heating a thin plastic sheet to a point it is flexible but not to quite molten to be placed not a male mold

  • Examples: polycarbonate tends to be a good compromise between weight and impact resistance

Corrugated Plastic

  • Quite often to create rigidity, doors, or any flat surface as needed

  • Resistant to crashes and impacts

  • Easy to work with

  • No need for special tools

  • Very smooth for aerodynamics