The development and flight testing of a group-3, ultra-lift, UAS for the research and development sector

As the pace of UAS technology has quickly developed over recent years, so too have the requirements placed upon them by increasing mission complexities. Both private industry and military groups have turned toward heavier, more capable unmanned aerial systems (UAS), such as those classified as group-3, as a tool for moving heavier payloads with the aim of reducing human workload in urban air mobility and package delivery. The development of these large UAS has presented a number of problems requiring research, such as assured autonomy issues, reliability and safety concerns, and power supply issues. However, due to the size, added complexity, and cost of group-3 UAS, many universities and federally funded research facilities are not able to investigate these problems and test their solutions on an actual group-3 UAS, instead using smaller, commercial off the shelf units. Using these smaller UAS however does not sufficiently simulate the true nature of a group-3 UAS, in terms of capability, flight operations, dynamics, storage, transportation, and maintenance requirements. This paper discusses the design, flight tests, and use cases of an economical group-3 UAS specifically designed for the research and development sector.