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Exploration of the Trade Space Between Unmanned Aircraft Systems Descent Maneuver Performance and Sense-and-Avoid System Performance RequirementsA need exists to safely integrate Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the United States' National Airspace System. Replacing manned aircraft's see-and-avoid capability in the absence of an onboard pilot is one of the key challenges associated with safe integration. Sense-and-avoid (SAA) systems will have to achieve yet-to-be-determined required separation distances for a wide range of encounters. They will also need to account for the maneuver performance of the UAS they are paired with. The work described in this paper is aimed at developing an understanding of the trade space between UAS maneuver performance and SAA system performance requirements, focusing on a descent avoidance maneuver. An assessment of current manned and unmanned aircraft performance was used to establish potential UAS performance test matrix bounds. Then, near-term UAS integration work was used to narrow down the scope. A simulator was developed with sufficient fidelity to assess SAA system performance requirements. The simulator generates closest-point-of-approach (CPA) data from the wide range of UAS performance models maneuvering against a single intruder with various encounter geometries. Initial attempts to model the results made it clear that developing maneuver performance groups is required. Discussion of the performance groups developed and how to know in which group an aircraft belongs for a given flight condition and encounter is included. The groups are airplane, flight condition, and encounter specific, rather than airplane-only specific. Results and methodology for developing UAS maneuver performance requirements are presented for a descent avoidance maneuver. Results for the descent maneuver indicate that a minimum specific excess power magnitude can assure a minimum CPA for a given time-to-go prediction. However, smaller amounts of specific excess power may achieve or exceed the same CPA if the UAS has sufficient speed to trade for altitude. The results of this study will support UAS maneuver performance requirements development for integrating UAS in the NAS. The methods described are being used to help RTCA Special Committee 228 develop requirements.
Document ID
20140011502
Acquisition Source
Langley Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Jack, Devin P.
(Adaptive Aerospace Group, Inc. Hampton, VA, United States)
Hoffler, Keith D.
(Adaptive Aerospace Group, Inc. Hampton, VA, United States)
Johnson, Sally C.
(Adaptive Aerospace Group, Inc. Hampton, VA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 10, 2014
Publication Date
June 16, 2014
Subject Category
Air Transportation And Safety
Aircraft Design, Testing And Performance
Report/Patent Number
NF1676L-18922
AIAA Paper 2014-2288
Meeting Information
Meeting: AIAA Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exposition (AVIATION 2014)
Location: Atlanta, GA
Country: United States
Start Date: June 16, 2014
End Date: June 20, 2014
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Funding Number(s)
WBS: WBS 425425.04.01.07.02
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNL10AA14B
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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