Tailless Wonders
Ala Voladora, the Final Design
Mission Objectives
• Unconventional Photorecon Aircraft• Comply with Request for Proposal• Challenge limits of student design capability• Pursue absolute excellence
The Tailless Wonders• Craig Skoch• Rob McDonald• Sergio Esteban • Chris DeBons• Amy Szyhowski• Keith Gray
Aircraft Layout
• Aspect Ratio• Taper Ratio• Sweep Angle• Washout Angle• Wingspan
60.635o
4o
8 ft.
Aerodynamics
• Oswald Efficiency• Static Margin• CDo
• Cmo
• L/Dmax
0.85610%
0.0110.024
21
Panel Scheme
Panel arrangement about Ala Voladora.
PMARC SolutionCP0.9371730.6874940.4378140.188135
-0.0615443-0.311224-0.560903
Pressure coefficient for Ala Voladora.
Top surface
Bottom surface
Aerodynamic Design
0 1 2 3 4 5
Washout Angle (degrees)0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
c m0
Lambdac/4=30Lambdac/4=35Lambdac/4=40
Zero lift moment coefficient as a functionof washout angle for Ala Voladora.
Sweep Selection
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Lambdac/4 (degrees)-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
X(in
),%
sm
xac
Aerodynamic center location as a functionof sweep angle for Ala Voladora.
Lift Curve
-6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12alpha
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
CL
Lift coefficient as a function of angle of attack for Ala Voladora.
Drag Polar
-0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
CL
0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
CD
Total drag as a function of lift coefficient for Ala Voladora.
Airfoil
Root and tip airfoil for Ala Voladora, NACA 653-0018 and NACA 651-0012.
Aerodynamic Load Distribution
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1y/s
-0.2
-0.1
0
0.1
0.2
Sect
iona
lCoe
ffic
ient
CNCAcm
Section normal force, axial force and moment coefficientas a function of spanwise location for Ala Voladora.
Pitching Moment
-0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
CL
-0.9
-0.6
-0.3
0
0.3
0.6
0.9
Cm
Pitching moment coefficient as a function of lift coefficient for Ala Voladora.
Winglet Design
0 5 10 15 20 25Sw/S (%)
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
Dam
ping
Rat
io
lambda = 0.2lambda = 0.4lambda = 0.6lambda = 0.8
Dutch roll damping ratio as a function ofwinglet area for winglet sweep of 40 degrees.
Winglet Effect on Dutch Roll
Dutch roll response following an impulse perturbation.
0 10 20 30 40 50Time (s)
Am
plitu
de
Without Winglets
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7Time (s)
With Winglets
Elevator Trim Calculations
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Static Margin (%)-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5El
evat
orde
flect
ion
(deg
rees
)
V= 30 ft/sV= 40 ft/sV= 45 ft/sV= 50 ft/s
Trim elevator deflection as a function of static margin.
Shear Stress Distribution
3
1
2
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1
y/s0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Web
Shea
rStre
ss
123
Shear stress as a function of spanwise location for Ala Voladora.
Structures Design
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1
x/c
0
50
100
150
200
250
Web
Shea
rStre
ss(p
si)
Maximum web shear stress as a function ofI-Beam location for Ala Voladora.
Stress Distribution
B
A
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1
y/s-200
-100
0
100
200
Stiff
ener
Stre
ss
BA
Stiffener stress as a function of spanwise location for Ala Voladora.
Performance
• Vmax
• RCmax
146 ft/s
1426 ft/m
Thrust Required and Available
0 50 100 150Velocity (ft/s)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Thru
st(lb
f)
TaTr
Thrust required and Thrust available as afunction of velocity for Ala Voladora.
Hodograph
0 50 100 150
Horizontal Velocity (ft/s)-1500
-750
0
750
1500
Rat
eof
Clim
b(f
pm)
Hodograph for Ala Voladora.
External CATIA View
Internal CATIA View
Typical Rib
Wing Jig
Q-Bay Layout
Internal Structure
Ala Voladora
Flying
Flight Pictures
Unit Cost
• Actual• Prototype• Production
$509$50,445
$2,455
Actual Cost
• Airframe• Construction• Controls• Propulsion• Shipping
$45$115
$49$249
$51
Prototype Cost
• Parts• Engineering• Labor• Overhead
$845$35,000
$2,000$12,600
Production Cost
• Parts• Contract Labor• Labor• Overhead
$800$35
$1000$620