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This two-week course offers a detailed look at UAVs and how they are flight tested. It is intended to provide the students with an understanding of UAV design and employment principles, and to introduce them to the methods and challenges associated with flight testing both remotely controlled and autonomous vehicles.
The course presents a historical prospective which shows the evolution of UAVs from yesterday through today and extrapolates to next generation designs. It defines the different types of UAVs and discusses the different missions that typical UAVs accomplish. With this as a foundation, the course presents typical UAV system architectures as well as representative platform designs. Typical performance and flying qualities requirements and flight tests are discussed as they relate to the previously described missions and associated operating envelopes. Specific considerations are given to: sensors; health monitoring systems; data links; mission control elements; controls and displays; and mission planning.
The course includes detailed discussions of the challenges associated with flight testing a UAV system. Topics examined include: How do we expand the envelope of an “unpiloted” vehicle? Does in-flight simulation have a role in UAV testing? Are high fidelity models needed to support UAV flight test? If so, how do we reconcile the model with the vehicle in order to safely uncover system deficiencies? How do we test contingency logic? How do UAVs co-mingle with commercial traffic in the national airspace system? The course offers candidate solutions these and other flight test questions.
The course includes flight and simulator exercises designed to illustrate the challenges of testing a vehicle that can only be controlled remotely. Both remote pilot and command directed systems are examined.
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