Custer channel wings for short takeoff and landing of unmanned aircraft
Custer channel wings for short takeoff and landing of unmanned aircraft
The channel wing is a lift-enhancement concept pioneered by Willard Ray Custer in the late 1940s in an effort to provide a fixed-wing aircraft with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. This paper experimentally investigates the possibility of using Custer channel wings for slow flight and STOL of small (under 35 kg) fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles. The Custer unmanned aircraft developed at the University of Southampton is introduced in this paper, including details of the installed channel wings and other systems necessary for slow-flight operation. Results from wind-tunnel tests are presented, showing a significant lift increase due to the channel wings in the range of airspeeds of interest. Flight tests are carried out to demonstrate the slow flight and STOL capabilities of the aircraft, showing superior stall characteristics and a two-thirds reduction of the runway length required when using the channel wings. Flight-test comparisons to a conventional wing–propeller configuration show superior slow-flight performance and 7–9% lower cruise speed of the channel-wing aircraft.
Mihalik, Juraj
9a9516b0-44b3-4231-9157-58c34597f08e
Keane, Andy
26d7fa33-5415-4910-89d8-fb3620413def
Mihalik, Juraj
9a9516b0-44b3-4231-9157-58c34597f08e
Keane, Andy
26d7fa33-5415-4910-89d8-fb3620413def
Mihalik, Juraj and Keane, Andy
(2021)
Custer channel wings for short takeoff and landing of unmanned aircraft.
Journal of Aircraft, 59 (1).
(doi:10.2514/1.C035944).
Abstract
The channel wing is a lift-enhancement concept pioneered by Willard Ray Custer in the late 1940s in an effort to provide a fixed-wing aircraft with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. This paper experimentally investigates the possibility of using Custer channel wings for slow flight and STOL of small (under 35 kg) fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles. The Custer unmanned aircraft developed at the University of Southampton is introduced in this paper, including details of the installed channel wings and other systems necessary for slow-flight operation. Results from wind-tunnel tests are presented, showing a significant lift increase due to the channel wings in the range of airspeeds of interest. Flight tests are carried out to demonstrate the slow flight and STOL capabilities of the aircraft, showing superior stall characteristics and a two-thirds reduction of the runway length required when using the channel wings. Flight-test comparisons to a conventional wing–propeller configuration show superior slow-flight performance and 7–9% lower cruise speed of the channel-wing aircraft.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
e-pub ahead of print date: 16 September 2021
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 473281
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/473281
ISSN: 0021-8669
PURE UUID: b82d4957-0a77-4079-8f56-05d447638bf5
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 13 Jan 2023 17:45
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:43
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Juraj Mihalik
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
Loading...
View more statistics