INGENIEUR
Systematic UAV Design
By Shuhaimi Mansor
Professor in Flight Dynamics
Wan Zaidi Wan Omar
Senior Lecturer in Aircraft Design
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
U
nmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are flying
machines that can be automatically
controlled and navigated without aircrew
on board. UAVs are also commonly known as
drones. An Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)
however is a system which includes a flying
machine, a ground-based control and monitoring
system and the communication system between
the two. Many years ago, we might have heard of
UAVs or drones used in dangerous and expensive
military applications, but nowadays we can
buy one from hobby shops or even build one
of your own. The price of a drone varies from a
few thousands to millions of dollars, depending
on their performances (which are mainly speed,
altitude and endurance), functionality, capability
and payloads.
The general configuration of the UAVs can be
divided into three types: fixed-wing, rotor-craft
or combination of the two. The general public,
particularly in Malaysia, is already widely exposed
to very small, lightweight UAVs. Most of them
fall into micro UAV (MUAV) category, with limited
operation, for personal use, fly within line of
sight for taking photos, videos and recreational
purposes. Due to the popularity of the quad-copter
configuration, the public has largely accepted that
the multi-rotor UAV is a “drone”. In contrast, there
are UAVs with the size of an airline jets such as the
Boeing 737 capable of a flying range of hundreds
of km and more than 24 hours endurance. They
can cruise at altitudes of more than 40,000 ft and
are capable to fly during the day and/or night.
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VOL
2019
VOL 80
55 OCTOBER-DECEMBER
JUNE 2013
UAV Mission Requirements
UAV applications cover a wide range from
personal use and civil commercial use such as
aerial photography, aerial surveillance, to military
applications such as carriage of guided missile,
rockets and aerial intelligence.
The application of UAVs started as early as
World War II in the form of the V1 and V2 rockets
by Germany. Then came the surveillance systems
where Israeli “aircraft without pilots” were reported
shot down over Egypt in the Yom Kippur war. Many
more applications came about after these military
uses. Cheaper systems, which are more and more
electronic-based modern instrumentation and
control systems became easily available as did
payloads like cameras and the communication
systems. Any data collected in a flight could be
directly transmitted to the controls on the ground,
enabling the flying platform to continue flying and
continue to collect data. All these enable high
rates of utility and cheaper operation.
UAVs can be classified into several categories.
These categories are grouped by size, weight,
range, endurance and cruising altitudes. Figure 1
gives an idea of the classes of current UAVs in the
market, based on the range-altitude capabilities
of UAVs.
Micro UAV (MUAV) covers the low end of the
market, with maximum take-off weight of less than
five kg. MUAVs can be built without going through
a comprehensive knowledge in aerodynamics,
stability and controls. Most of the parts required to