Hawkeye UAV Dynamic Analysis

A dynamic analysis of the Hawkeye unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) produced by University of Kansas students has been completed and results are presented herein. Geometric data was collected through measurements of the aircraft and its control surfaces, from which a computerized model was developed. Stability and control derivatives and steady state trimmed flight conditions were calculated with the Advanced Aircraft Analysis (AAA) software package. These results were then verified by comparison with similar aircraft platforms and simulated using a 6 degree of freedom nonlinear MATLAB/Simulink interface. The resulting system demonstrated stable phugoid, short period, roll, and dutch roll modes with an unstable spiral mode. Subsequent research should focus on further verification of the current stability derivatives and investigation of dynamic stability by computation of multiple trim conditions within a flight envelope ranging between a stall speed of 28 knots and a dash speed of 80 knots. The results presented have potential application for use in the design of control systems capable of autonomously controlling this UAV as well as similar sized vehicles.