Institute of Flight

UAV icing: system identification of leading-edge rime-ice effects on a small fixed-wing drone

Abstract As small fixed-wing unmanned (or uncrewed) aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly deployed for long-endurance, beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) missions, atmospheric icing has emerged as a critical operational hazard. One of the barriers to safe flight in these condi...

Machine-optimized parametric computer assisted design (CAD) of a stable flying wing UAV glider

Abstract Designing a statically stable flying-wing UAV glider is a highly nonlinear problem in which small geometric changes cause large shifts in stability and performance. While prior work has applied gradient-based and gradient-free methods to flying-wing aerodynamic optimizat...

Taming the tilt: A unified pilot control concept for transformational eVTOL aircraft

Abstract Transformational electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles have gained significant attention over the past decade due to their efficient wing-borne cruise capabilities and reduced reliance on ground-based infrastructure. However, control system design for t...

Real-Time Heat-Sink Capability Monitoring Framework of Fuel Thermal Management System

With the proliferation of high-power electronics, electric propulsion, and directed-energy weapons, thermal management has evolved from a high-speed flight concern into a systemic bottleneck across subsonic, transonic, and supersonic aircraft. Conventional fuel thermal management...

Deterministic, rule-following trajectory generation system for waypoint flight

Abstract Advanced Air Mobility operations require flight guidance systems that exhibit predictable, deterministic behavior and remain compatible with established navigation standards. Many existing online trajectory generation methods rely on numerical optimization, or time-param...