01 Jun 2005
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'Eclipse' Unmanned Air Vehicle
The world’s first unmanned air vehicle (UAV) with a revolutionary ‘flapless wing’ flow control system has been flown by Manchester University in partnership with BAE Systems and a team of UK universities.
The project, managed by the ATC on behalf of BAE Systems and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is pushing forward a range of technologies designed to meet the needs of the next generation of UAVs. Being able to fly and control aircraft without conventional control surfaces, such as flaps, will bring benefits to both military and civil aircraft. In military jets the stealth characteristics will be enhanced by a reduction in edges and gaps that can increase radar cross section. Additionally, the number of moving and electrical parts in both military and civil aircraft will be reduced which has clear implications for cost, reliability, weight, efficiency and maintenance.
This first vehicle, flown near Manchester, UK in May, is the result of work focused on aerodynamics technologies. This has produced novel means of flow control for improved manoeuvrability, stealth, robustness and simplicity. Control is achieved by blowing air from the trailing edge of the wing which entrains the upper surface flow and so increases lift. Project FLAVIIR (Flapless, autonomous vehicle, integrated industry research) began in 2004 and aims over the next 4 years to bring together a range of technologies from the topics: aerodynamics, control systems, electromagnetics, manufacturing, materials/Structures, numerical simulation and integration.
The overall goal is “To develop technologies for a maintenance free, low cost UAV without conventional control surfaces and without performance penalty over conventional craft.” A partnership of 10 universities plus BAE Systems has been assembled to achieve this.
FLAVIIR is the first of a number of large-scale integrated research programmes to emerge from the BAE Systems University Partnership Programme and the strategic partnership with EPSRC. “This is the first project of its type to bring together both academic and industrial partners, all contributing towards a single, shared goal.” says Phil Woods, project manager at the ATC. “What makes FLAVIIR unique is that the research is aimed at producing an entire working system, rather than just looking into individual technologies." he says.
Furthermore, in order to build in added flexibility to the programme, a sizable extra fund has been reserved for topics not considered at the outset - so called ‘seedcorn’ projects. Such projects will kick off at various stages during the FLAVIIR programme at wherever the most innovative and relevant ideas stem from within the partnership. More flying demonstrations are planned in the next few months with a project conference taking place in November 2005.
FLAVIIR partners are:
Cranfield University (project director), The University of Leicester, The University of Liverpool, The University of Manchester, The University of Nottingham, The University of Southampton, The University of Wales (Swansea), Warwick University (Warwick Manufacturing Group), The University of York and Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine.
FLAVIIR is jointly funded by BAE Systems and the EPSRC.
