SMALL, LOW COST, REMOTE-CONTROLLED, TURBOJET POWERED AVI- ONICS TESTBED/INEXPENSIVE TURBOJET AVIONICS PLATFORM (ITAP)

THE ITAP REQUIRES ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY IN FABRICATION AND IN TEAM INTERACTION AS WELL. WE HAVE ASSEMBLED A CAPABLE TEAM, EAGER TO ACCOMPLISH THIS TASK. THE TECHNOLOGY FOR AIRFRAME CONSTRUCTION INVOLVES ADVANCED USE OF VACUUM FORMED GLASS AND CARBON FIBER REINFORCED EPOXY SKINS ON A ROHA-CELL PVC FOAM SANDWICH. THIS WILL PERMIT THE FABRICATION OF THE MAJOR AIRFRAME COMPONENTS IN 2 HALVES, A TOP AND A BOTTOM. AFTER ASSEMBLY OF THE 2 HALVES, THE AIRFRAME CAN THEN BE SEGMENTED AS DESIRED. BECAUSE THE PROCESS USES RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE EPOXY TOOLING, THE AIRFRAME CAN BE REPRODUCED QUICKLY AND ACCURATELY. THIS PROVIDES INTERCHANGEABILITY OF COMPONENTS AND CONSISTENCY IN "RIGGING" OF THE AIRFRAMES. THIS ALLOWS THE PAYLOAD SECTION OF THE FUSELAGE TO BE INTERCHANGEABLE WITH MULTIPLE AIRFRAMES. ALSO THE USER MAY CUSTOMIZE A PAYLOAD SECTION FOR AN UNUSUAL TEST CONFIGURATION. PRELIMINARY CANDIDATES FOR PROPULSION OF THE AIRFRAME ARE THE SUNDSTRAND AEROSPACE TJ-20/70/90 ENGINES. ADDITIONAL ENGINES WILL BE EVALUATED DURING THE INITIAL PHASES OF THE DESIGN ITERATION. THE ITAP FLIGHT CONTROL AVIONICS WILL INCLUDE AN ITAP POINT-OF-VIEW VISUAL DISPLAY WITH SUPERIMPOSED FLIGHT PERFORMANCE AND HEADING DATA. AN INTEGRATED AUTOPILOT WILL ENHANCE SAFETY AND EASE OF OPERATION WITH FAILSAFE MODE FOR ENGINE SHUTDOWN AND RECOVERY. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS - EXTRA PAYLOAD SECTIONS CAN BE FABRICATED AND MADE AVAILABLE TO THE TEST AVIONICS MANUFACTURERS FOR INSTALLATION AND BENCH TESTING OF THE PACKAGE. THE TEST AVIONICS LADEN PAYLOAD SECTION CAN BE QUICKLY AND EASILY SHIPPED TO MULTIPLE SITES WHERE AIRFRAMES ARE ALREADY PREPOSITIONED AND QUICKLY MATED FOR TESTING. ITAP OPERATORS CAN BE TRAINED WITH BALLASTED PAYLOAD SECTIONS. THE FLIGHT VEHICLE CAN BE "SPARED" AND THE PAYLOAD SECTION TRANSFERRED TO PRESERVE TEST SCHEDULES.