Conceptual design of a tropical cyclone UAV based on the AR-6 Endeavor aircraft

TL;DR

This paper presents the preliminary simulation design of a small, agile UAV based on the AR-6 Endeavor aircraft, capable of operating in hurricane-force winds for direct surface wind measurement and cyclone data collection.

Contribution

It introduces a novel UAV design inspired by a full-sized aircraft, optimized for tropical cyclone data acquisition with high-speed, responsive flight capabilities.

Findings

Achieves a maximum cruising speed of 407 km/h

Operates effectively in wind speeds up to 225 km/h

Demonstrates responsive flight controls in simulation

Abstract

This paper reports on the preliminary simulation work for a 1-meter class tropical cyclone UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) based on the Formula-One AR-6 Endeavor full-sized airplane. Variants with different wing span are evaluated using the popular RealFlight radio-control simulator. The 84 cm wing-span platform achieves a maximum cruising speed (Vh) of 407 kmh-1 and demonstrates responsive flight controls throughout its flight envelope even in sustained wind speed of 225 kmh-1. Being a small and agile UAV, it can be flown below the storm to measure surface wind directly and avoid possible uncertainty associated with the vertical wind profile adjustment. Chute-free vertical retardation technique is also proposed. The ultimate aim of the research is to develop cost effective UAVs that can be employed in a multi-agent setting to acquire high resolution data to enhance understanding of cyclogenesis and to make better predictions.