Stowed Unmanned Air Vehicle Engineering (SUAVE)

NextGen Aeronautics has teamed with Dr. Jamey Jacob of OSU and Dr. Suzanne Smith of UK on this program entitled ¡°Stowed Unmanned Air Vehicle Engineering (SUAVE),¡±in response to SBIR Solicitation No. SB072-042. The NextGen team has in-depth experience and expertise in morphing and inflatable wing design, development, and flight testing. The goal of our effort is to develop viable, low-stored volume wing designs for high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) aircraft and validate the design by conducting wind tunnel and laboratory experiments in Phase I and a balloon launched flight experiment in Phase II. At the end of Phase I, the following will be completed: (1) aerodynamic design of a high-aspect ratio wing with a lift/drag (L/D) ratio ¡Ý30 at a nominal altitude of 90,000 ft; (2) structural design of a ¡®hybrid¡¯ wing providing an aspect ratio of around 24; (3) wind tunnel tests on suitably scaled models to quantify L/D; (4) actuation and deployment tests of the expandable/inflatable wing section; and (5) analytical trades studies to guide scaling-up to an operational vehicle and establish roadmaps for technology transition. The focus of a potential Phase II program will be to conduct a balloon launched flight test experiment to validate aerodynamic performance as well as wing deployment