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Project Dawdler: a Proposal in Response to a Low Reynolds Number Station Keeping MissionIn direct response to Request for Proposals: Flight at very low Reynolds numbers - a station keeping mission, the members of Design Squad E present Project Dawdler: a remotely-piloted airplane supported by an independently controlled take-off cart. A brief introduction to Project Dawdler's overall mission and design, is given. The Dawdler is a remotely-piloted airplane designed to fly in an environmentally-controlled closed course at a Reynolds number of 10(exp 5) and at a cruise velocity of 25 ft/s. The two primary goals were to minimize the flight Reynolds number and to maximize the loiter time. With this in mind, the general design of the airplane was guided by the belief that a relatively light aircraft producing a fairly large amount of lift would be the best approach. For this reason the Dawdler utilizes a canard rather than a conventional tail for longitudinal control, primarily because the canard contributes a positive lift component. The Dawdler also has a single vertical tail mounted behind the wing for lateral stability, half of which is used as a rudder for yaw control. Due to the fact that the power required to take-off and climb to altitude is much greater than that required for cruise flight and simple turning maneuvers, it was decided that a take-off cart be used. Based on the current design, there are two unknowns which could possibly threaten the success of Project Dawdler. First, the effect of the fully-movable canard with its large appropriation of total lift on the performance of the plane, and secondly, the ability of the take-off procedure to go as planned are examined. These are questions which can only be answered by a prototype.
Document ID
19900015812
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Contractor Report (CR)
Authors
Bartilotti, Rich
(Notre Dame Univ. IN, United States)
Coakley, Jill
(Notre Dame Univ. IN, United States)
Golla, Warren
(Notre Dame Univ. IN, United States)
Scamman, Glenn
(Notre Dame Univ. IN, United States)
Tran, Hoa T.
(Notre Dame Univ. IN, United States)
Trippel, Chris
(Notre Dame Univ. IN, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
May 1, 1990
Subject Category
Aircraft Design, Testing And Performance
Report/Patent Number
NAS 1.26:186668
NASA-CR-186668
Accession Number
90N25128
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NASW-4435
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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