Abstract: The present invention is an unmanned air vehicle designed for reconnaissance, surveillance, data acquisition, and general research. The air vehicle is a monoplane that consists of several pieces that can easily be assembled using a minimal amount of tools. The air vehicle consists of a forward and aft fuselage section, two identical horizontal stabilizers, and four identical wing sections. The aircraft can fly with all four wing sections, or with just two wing sections (the short wing configuration). Each of the four wing sections of the air vehicle can be interchanged with any of the other wing sections for the purpose of minimizing assembly time and spare parts.

Abstract: An unmanned air vehicle designed for reconnaissance, surveillance, data acquisition, and general research. The vehicle is a monoplane that is comprised of several pieces that can easily be assembled using a minimal amount of tools. The aircraft consists of a forward and aft fuselage section, two identical horizontal stabilizers, and four identical wing sections. The aircraft can fly with all four wing sections, or with just two wing sections (the short wing configuration). This makes the aircraft usable for missions requiring short takeoff and landing and high endurance (long wing), or missions requiring higher speed and range (short wing). No other UAV (or other aircraft) has this unique feature. Another novel aspect of the present invention is the wing control can be specially designed to increase the effectiveness of the wing control surface while minimizing the effect the control surface has on the overall aerodynamics of the wing, namely drag.

Abstract: A method and system is disclosed for using inertial sensors in an Inertial Navigation System (INS) to obtain analytic estimates of angle-of-attack (&agr;) and sideslip angle (&agr;). The inertial sensors consist of one or more accelerometers which produce the estimated signals for angle-of-attack (&agr;) and sideslip angle (&bgr;). Three methods are shown for obtaining &agr; and &bgr; estimates from INS information and are programmed into a nonlinear simulation of a relaxed stability aircraft requiring a high level of artificial stability augmentation in its flight control system. Simulation results from the nonlinear simulation for each of the three methods were compared with the results obtained when conventional probes were used to obtain direct measurements of &agr; and &bgr;.

Abstract: The invention is a propulsion system. In detail, the invention comprises a hollow housing having a longitudinal axis and an inlet end and an exhaust nozzle end. A shaft is rotatively mounted along the longitudinal axis within the housing, extending from the inlet end to the exhaust nozzle end. A fan is attached to one end of the shaft in proximity to the inlet end of the housing. A turbine, having a plurality of blades, is attached to the opposite end of the shaft in proximity to the exhaust nozzle end of the housing. A solid propellant rocket motor is detachably mounted to the housing, having a thrust axis alignable with the longitudinal axis of the housing such that, when the motor is ignited, at least a portion of any exhaust gases therefrom are intercepted by the blades of the turbine for driving same.