Journey to the Typhoon

Abstract

Application of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) for tropical cyclone missions is an emerging area of research and recent advances include the concept of spinsonde for multi-cycle measurement of vertical wind profile within the storm. This work proposes the design of a typhoon UAV as part of a cost-effective approach for acquiring atmospheric data to improve prediction and refine models. Land-and carrier-based flight schemes are proposed in this study and computer simulations are carried out to investigate the flight performance. Results suggest that the UAV achieves a maximum cruising speed in excess of 350 km·h −1 with excellent spinsonde performance. Furthermore, the UAV is capable of performing high-alpha maneuvers as well as vertical landing, thus rendering it suitable for space-efficient operation whether on land or aircraft carrier.

Retarded Harrier Maneuver as a New and Efficient Approach for Fixed-Wing Aircraft to Achieve S/VTOL

“…The airplane would climb up the ramp under its own power using its horizontal thrusts, T hoz as shown in Figure 5 During vertical landing, the reverse process occurs. In our previous work relating to typhoon application, the airplane made its way towards the docking surface using only the harrier maneuver during landing and that necessarily involved some forward airspeed prior to contact with the docking surface [18].…”

Rotosonde: Acquiring Vertical Wind Profile of a Tropical Cyclone with Small Unmanned Helicopters

“…to carry additional onboard fuel or batteries to enhance flight endurance [6]. Spinsonde-capable unmanned airplane with a wing loading of 227 g·dm −2 has a simulated descent rate of 9.8 ms −1 and a V H of 355 km·h −1 (without drop tanks) [7]. It is also interesting to note that unmanned airplane equipped with PTVC-M was able to climb while gyrating in the stall-spin [8].…”