GUIDE FOR DESIGNING A FIXED WING

CONVENTIONAL SUAV

By: Alper Kaya & Mert Akbaba

Istanbul 2021
Table of Contents:
DESIGNING A FIXED WING CONVENTIONAL SUAV ................................................................................ 1
Common Types of Aircrafts: ................................................................................................................ 3
Pros and Cons of Fixed Wing Aircrafts: ............................................................................................... 4
Common Types of Fixed-wing SUAVs: ................................................................................................. 6
Pros and Cons of Conventional SUAVs: ............................................................................................... 7
Basic Components of a Conventional SUAV: ....................................................................................... 7
Airframe:.......................................................................................................................................... 8
Motor/s and ESC:............................................................................................................................. 8
Servos: ............................................................................................................................................. 9
Battery: ............................................................................................................................................ 9
Flight Controller and GPS: ............................................................................................................. 10
Transmitter and Receiver: ............................................................................................................. 11
Sources for Photos: ............................................................................................................................... 12
Common Types of Aircrafts:
The most common three aircraft types in the world are;

• Fixed-wing aircrafts
• Rotary-wing aircrafts
• and VTOLs (Vertical Takeoff and landing)

Fixed-wing aircraft are the ones, which depend on their wing to create lift and fly. Those aircraft are
airliners, private jets, gliders, etc.

Rotary-wing aircraft are the ones, which depend on their thrusts of motors to lift the aircraft and thus
fly. Those aircraft are helicopters and nearly all of the civil use drones.
VTOL aircraft are the ones, which are capable of vertical take-off and landing, as well as transitioning
from vertical flight to horizontal flight. While landing and taking off, they depend on their motors, just
like rotary-wing aircraft. However, during flight, they depend on the lift from their wings, like fixed-
wing aircraft. These aircraft are notorious for the hardness of their development process, costs, and
maintainability. Famous examples are F-35 fighter jets, MV-22 Osprey, AV-8B Harrier, etc.

Pros and Cons of Fixed Wing Aircrafts:

As we mentioned earlier, fixed-wing aircraft depend on their wing to create lift. Unlike rotary-wing
aircraft, they do not have to exert power all the time to stay in the air. Most fixed-wing aircraft have
one or two motors to push the aircraft frontward to make air move through the wing. Wings have
special shapes to create pressure differences between the upper and lower side of the wing.
The power needed to accelerate the plane is far less than the power needed to make an aircraft take-
off using only its motors. For example, Boeing 747 has a thrust-to-weight ratio of 0.271, which means
the total thrust of the motors is a quarter of the plane's total mass. If Boeing 747 was a rotary-wing
aircraft, it needed a thrust-to-weight ratio, more than 1 because if the motors can't produce enough
thrust to lift the aircraft, it can't take off. To fly stable, it needs to be at least something around 1.1-
1.2. In conclusion, it needs 4 times the thrust, if it were to take off and fly vertically. This means that
fixed-wing aircraft can fly for longer times and longer distances. However, It can't land in small areas
like rotary-wing aircraft, because they need a runway.

On the other hand, VTOLs are able to fly in small areas and fly by using the lift of the wings at the same
time. However, as we mentioned earlier, the hardness of the development process and sustainability
of those aircraft should not be overlooked.

In conclusion, fixed-wing aircraft are choosable for their efficiency and easier and cheaper
development process in contrast to other types of aircraft.

1
(Benson, 2021)
Common Types of Fixed-wing SUAVs:
The most common two fixed-wing SUAV (Small Unmanned Air Vehicle) types in the world are;

• Conventional SUAVs
• Flying Wing SUAVs

Conventional SUAVs are the ones that we used to see. They have a wing, which is attached to a body,
nearly all of the electrical components are in the body, etc.

Flying Wing SUAVs are aircraft without a tail and has a body blended with its wing.
Pros and Cons of Conventional SUAVs:

In the development stage of a conventional SUAV, because of the existence of a tail, forces on the
plane can be balanced. This means even if the center of mass is in a slightly different position than it
should be, it is still likely to fly without any issues. With a flying wing SUAV, you have to define an
exact center of mass point and if the aircraft's CG (center of gravity) is a little different from the point
it should be, the flight characteristics of the aircraft will change drastically. Thus, we can tell that
conventional SUAVs are more mistake forgiven in the development, production, and test flight
stages. Also, most of the time flying wing designs have less cargo space than conventional planes.

Basic Components of a Conventional SUAV:

For a conventional fixed-wing SUAV to fly autonomously and stably, those are the components that
you will need:

• Airframe
• Motor/s and ESC
• Servos
• Battery
• Flight Controller and GPS
• Transmitter - Receiver
Airframe:
For the airframe design, we recommend a high wing platform. The reason behind this is that as the
distance between the center of gravity and the center of lift increases the plane becomes more
stable. However, if the center of the lift is lower than the center of gravity, the plane will become
more and more unstable. So by difference, we mean how higher the wing is, in contrast to the center
of gravity.

If we take a look at a Cessna 172 and F86 Sabre we can easily see the difference between wing
configurations. 172 is designed to be a stable aircraft, thus has a high wing configuration, whereas F86
design to do acrobatic maneuvers in a dogfight.

Motor/s and ESC:

When it comes to engine choice, we have two options. Fuel engines or electric motors. The
advantage of fuel engines is that they are actually more efficient for airplanes. Most fuel engines of
scale that can be used for SUAV aircraft use Nitro as fuel. Nitro has a higher energy density than lipo
or lithium-ion batteries used to power electric motors. In other words, with a nitro tank of the same
size, you can fly for much longer periods than with a battery. However, electric motors are easier to
maintain and often last longer. Also, as the Nitro tank is emptied, the aircraft's center of gravity may
change. This is not the case with batteries. The weight of a full battery and an empty battery is
negligible for batteries below 10,000 Mah for 3s.
If a nitro engine is to be used, an ESC will not be required. However, if an electric motor is to be used,
an electric speed controller (ESC) must be used to control that motor. ESCs should be chosen above
10% of the current that the motor can draw for safety reasons.

Servos:
Servos are small motors that allow us to move aircraft control surfaces. Servos are generally classified
according to their weight and the force they can apply. Servos between 50-100 grams will provide the
necessary power for the aircraft in the SUAV class.

Battery:
If you have chosen an electric motor, you should also choose a battery that will provide sufficient
power to this motor. UAVs in this class generally use 2 types of batteries. Lithium Polymer or Lithium
Ion. Lithium-Ion batteries are similar to pen batteries, but you can think of lithium-ion batteries to be
used for airplanes as long versions of pen batteries. It may also be necessary to connect several
lithium-ion batteries in series to provide the required voltage. Lithium-ion batteries, on the other
hand, are usually rectangular prism shaped. 3 things should be considered when choosing a battery.
The maximum current the battery can supply, the capacity and voltage of the battery. Considering
these parameters, a suitable battery for the unmanned aerial vehicle should be selected.
Flight Controller and GPS:

There are many flight control boards on the market for UAVs of this size. If you wish, you can also
make your own flight control card, but since this is a much more complicated option, we will not
explain how it is done here. Flight control cards are essential to ensure the autonomous flight of
UAVs. You can enter data such as the altitude and coordinates to be flown, and you can fly the plane
autonomously in any area you want. The most used flight control boards in the market are Pixhawk,
Ardupilot and Matek for drones of this size. Among these three brands, we recommend Pixhawk,
which is still getting updates and is the most advanced. With the Pixhawk, it is possible to do almost
anything with a drone of this size. In addition, since it is an open-source project, it is possible to
change the codes and customize the card according to your own needs.
For the GPS, nearly anything will be ok but if extreme precision is needed, we advise you to find the
datasheet of that GPS and check the precision. You can choose a GPS by comparing the level of
precisions of GPS’s. For example, here you can see a part from Here 3 GPS’s datasheet.

Transmitter and Receiver:

The most important factor in choosing a transmitter and receiver is the desired range. Most of the
transmitters in the market are operating at 2.4 GHz frequencies. It's fine until you pass the 2km. The
problem is that higher frequencies can't go very far. As the frequency decreases, the longer the
wavelength becomes and it can penetrate through the air and other stuff more easily. However, data
transmission speed will decrease. For ranges like 30km we recommend 433-900 MHz modules. Even
though it doesn't transmit data as fast as 2.4Ghz transmitters, the delay is hardly noticeable and you
get the extra 28 km range.
Sources:

Benson, T. (2021, May 13). Beginner's Guide to Propulsion. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE
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