Development and Flight Test of Fixed-Wing UAV using Geometry Definition with GUI and Panel Method Analysis

This paper validates a design support framework that integrates OpenVSP with an in-house panel method solver, UNLSI, to develop efficient transportation systems using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This framework utilizes OpenVSP for geometry definition and UNLSI for the analysis of aerodynamic characteristics. To verify the methodology of this approach, the analytical results were compared with those from an existing solver, and with data from wind tunnel experiments. The results demonstrated that the predictions from UNLSI were in good agreement with the wind tunnel test data. Furthermore, flight tests were conducted on the designed aircraft. The aircraft's performance was compared with the analytical results, based on the measured power consumption and assumed performance of the propulsion system.