A baseline configuration for the dual-aircraft platform (DAP) concept is described and evaluated in a physics-based flight dynamics simulations for two month-long missions as a communications relay in the lower stratosphere above central Florida. The DAP features two unmanned aerial vehicles connected via a long adjustable cable which effectively sail back-and-forth using wind velocity gradients and solar energy. Detailed atmospheric profiles in the vicinity of 60,000-ft derived from archived data measured by the 50-Mhz Doppler Radar Wind Profiler at Cape Canaveral are used in the flight simulations. An overview of the novel guidance and flight control strategies are provided. The energy-usage of the baseline configuration during month-long stationkeeping missions (i.e., within 150-mile radius of downtown Orlando) is characterized and compared to that of a pure solar aircraft.


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    Title :

    Virtual Flight Demonstration of the Stratospheric Dual-Aircraft Platform


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    AIAA Aviation 2016 ; 2016 ; Washington, DC, United States


    Publication date :

    2016-06-13


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




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