Dynamic Soaring in Hurricanes

The potential for a gliding UAV to sustain flight by dynamically soaring in a hurricane is investigated. Leveraging extensive storm observations, the wind profile of the hurricane eye is modeled as a continuous function that is zero at the center and increases as a power of the radius. We then derive the equations of motion for a UAV flying in this wind field, and prove analytically that if the wind field exponent n = 1, dynamic soaring is not possible. This analytical result is also validated in simulation. We also provide extensive simulation results for the case where the wind field exponent n > 1. These results indicate that dynamic soaring is in fact possible for such storms, and the velocity gain for a single dynamic soaring cycle is correlated with the wind field gradient.