Hover Copter Engineering Analysis

Gustavo Nrez University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, 76012, USA

The use of canards on planes is an aspect of design, which may or may not be beneficial to the overall performance of the aircraft. Based on wind tunnel testing this may be evaluated based on data. With a measuring mechanism such as the pyramidal force balance, the desired force components can be calculated by making the correct voltmeter values and calibrate it to actual force from weights. Data will demonstrate the different aspects the change with using a canard or not, such as the trim alterations that result of the added wing component.

Nomenclature
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = coefficient of lift coefficient of drag coefficient of moment about resolving center coefficient of moment about center of gravity pitching moment density angle of attack gas constant drag force lift force atmospheric pressure atmospheric temperature freestream velocity neutral point position of center of gravity

I. Introduction

HE purpose of this project is to understand the functionality and aerodynamic components of an R/C Air Hog Vectron Wave model. The toys design is a flying saucer composed of a propeller and vane frame structure. Although the Hover Craft is meant for amusement, the device demonstrates that it is composed of aerodynamic stability and mechanics. In order to understand the workings of the gadget, a proper analysis of the design must be taken account for the purpose of the design and the possible intentions of the producer. The materials in which the Hover Craft is composed of utilizes light materials to reduce the power required to perform with respect to energy usages as well as durability due to the plastic counterparts. The device is understood to be built to accurate over from the ground by using a proximity sensor that senses the detection of a surface underneath and increased the velocity of the fan to maintain a level off the ground. As long as the Hover Craft does not detect a surface underneath, the gadget is programmed to maintain a hover condition in which it maintains stable in midair. The device is seen as clearly being capable of these two main propeller speeds depending on the sensor. The methods utilized demonstrate the strategy and methodology of finding the values of flight and stability.

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II. Analysis
The characterizations of the Hover Craft model are taken into account in order to determine the functionality of the product. The Hover Copter is composed of a design containing two main intriguing components of the flight mechanism as shown in Figure 2.1. The gadget is seen to be composed of a 6 high angle of attack vane blades covering the propeller underneath. A close analysis will be done to analyze the purpose these components. A precise method to calculate the velocity of the mass flow going through the mechanism is by using equations of propeller theory. In order for the get these values for propeller, a measurement of the angular velocity must be made. With the availability of laser tachometer allows to calculate the Revolutions per minute for the frame and the propeller of the hovercraft. The angular velocities when the hovercraft is in a hover condition is read by the tachometer as

When the hovercraft detects the proximity of a surface, the angular velocities increase for the two mechanisms.

Figure 2.1-Commercial image of the R/C Air Hog Vectron Wave model

III. Data Results and Data Analysis

IV. Conclusion
It can be concluded from the data gathered that the canard does have an effect on the model as suspected. However due to the model design, this data may not represent the optimal design for the highest performance. Based on the mission required, the design of using a canard may be utilized with respect to the performance required. The testing environment showed to be a stable environment for the data recoding.

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References
1. Anderson, J. D.:,Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1991 2. Maddalena, Luca, Boundary Layer Slides, MAE 3182, University of Texas at Arlington, Texas, 2012

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