Flight Simulation for the Development of an Experimental Uav

The use of flight simulation tools to reduce the schedule, risk, and required amount of flight testing for complex aerospace systems is a well-recognized benefit of these approaches. However, some special challenges arise when one attempts to obtain these benefits for the development and operation of an Experimental Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system. These types of UAV systems are characterized by the need for the need for continual checkout of experimental software and hardware. Also, flight-testing can be further leveraged by complementing research results with flight-test validated simulation results for the same experimental UAV. In this paper, flight simulation architectures for system design, integration, and operation of an experimental helicopter-based UAV, the GTMax, are explored, and the development of a simulation tool described. The chosen helicopter-based UAV platform (a Yamaha R-Max) is well instrumented: differential GPS, inertial measurement unit, sonar altimeter, radar altimeter, and a 3-axis magnetometer. One or two flight processors can be utilized. INTRODUCTION This paper describes the development and use of simulation tools for the Georgia Tech R-Max VTOL UAV (GTMax), shown in Figure 1, and related UAV programs. The GTMax is a highly capable platform for UAV research that has been developed over the past 12 months, and builds on previous UAV work at Georgia Tech. It has already been used to accomplish important research objectives and to compete in an international engineering competition. The GTMax system will first be described in limited detail. Then, the simulation tools developed to support its development and use will be described, including a variety of configurations that have been used. Following this, results and conclusions are discussed. _____________ * Lockheed Martin Assistant Professor of Avionics Integration, Member AIAA. E-mail: [email protected] † Graduate Research Assistant E-mail: [email protected] Figure 1 – GTMax UAV