Action Plan: Developing FlyH2 Aerospace UAV Alpha
ma...@flyh2.com
on 100% hydrogen. It will be powered by a 300 Watt Fuel Hydrogen Cell
and carry 1.1 litres of hydrogen compressed to 300 bar. The fuel cell
will produce up to 330W power with the only by-product being water
vapor. The fuel cell and related equipment will be purchased from Mark
Bawtree of Horizon Fuel Cell (www.horizonfuelcell.com) in China.
Designing the UAV
The initial design of the UAV is now complete. It will feature a 3
meter wide, high aspect ratio wing. According to my initial
calculations, it will be able to reach cruising speed on 200W to 300W
of power. Sibbele Hietkam of the CSIR was kind enough to cross-check
my hydrogen energy density calculations.
Engineer and Aerodynamicist, Lucien Miller of Innov8tiveDesigns
(www.innov8tivedesigns.com) was kind enough to assist me in working a
strategy to perform these calculations. John Dreese, author of the
well known airfoil profiling software, DesignFoil (www.dreesecode.com)
has sponsored FlyH2 Aerospace a copy of his software. We'll be using
the DesignFoil software to derive lift and drag coefficients of our
wing. Once we have modified our airfoils profile for the best lift/
drag ratio, we'll be exporting it to X-Plane Plane-Maker (open source
flight simulation software - www.x-plane.com) to calculate the total
drag (induced and parasitic) at the UAV's various operational speeds.
This information will help us calculate the required thrust accelerate
the small aircraft to cruising speed.
Once we know the optimum cruising speeds and required thrust, it's
easy to select a propeller that produces maximum efficiency at the
cruise airspeed. Scorpion Brushless Electric Motors through Innov8tive
Designs have agreed to sponsor FlyH2 Aerospace a custom wind an
electric motor and custom-built electronic speed controller that
produces maximum efficiency at out cruise RPM. They'll also be
building a custom speed controller for us that produces max torque and
efficiency at 36V - the exact maximum continuous output of the fuel
cell.
Once again, according to my initial calculations (using the MotoCalc
Electric Flight Performance Prediction Software) the optimum cruise
speed will be between 30 and 35 knots (55 to 65 km/h). The UAV will
weigh 4.5 kg.
We're also considering adding a 33.4V X-Caliber Lithium Polymer
battery pack to assist the UAV during the power-hungry take-off and
climb phases of flight. The Li-Po batteries would be able to add an
astounding 2.2 kW of peak power to the , rocketing the UAV into the
air. During optimal cruise, excess power from the fuel cell will be
used to recharge the batteries. Unfortunately, the circuitry adds a
level of complexity and the batteries add almost 1kg weight bringing
the total weight of the UAV to just under 5.5kg. This back-up option
will only be used if 330W is insufficient to get the UAV off the
ground safely and effectively.
Building the UAV
The UAV wing will be cut from EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) and coated in
a thin carbon fiber layer. The body will be molded with carbon fiber
tape, making the UAV light and strong. The UAV will have a forward CG.
A downward force from the horizontal tail surface will keep it stable
in both powered and un-powered stages of flight.
Costs
We estimate the total material costs of the UAV at R 60 000. Any
additional funds received will be used to purchase my time so that I
can dedicate a greater share of my efforts to the project.
Sponsors and Sponsorship
Fortunately, with special thanks to our sponsors, we're already R 17
000 of the way there. We desperately need more funding. If you're
willing to sponsor our cause, we'll be only to grateful.
Sponsors receive mention on our web site and in our press releases and
published newsletters (such as this one). Our sponsors are also made
part of the FlyH2 Aerospace Community and kept up-to-date. They're
invited to public events (such as the planned public demonstration of
the UAV). Lastly, all sponsors will receive a flight in our planned
Hydrogen Powered General Aviation 2-Seater Aircraft when it's built
and tested, free of charge. Every bit helps. Please be sure to make at
least a small donation. This can be done online, securely via credit
card at: http://www.flyh2.com/InvestmentSponsorship/tabid/57/Default.aspx.
Alternatively, please contact me on ma...@flyh2.com
UAV Purpose
The purpose of the UAV is threefold:
To prove our capability in developing hydrogen powered aircraft to
potential sponsors, such as the National Research Foundation
To act as a scale test platform for our development efforts in
developing a full sized environmentally friendly hydrogen powered
aircraft. This once again will act as a scale test platform for
commercial aircraft.
To be sold to the SA Navy as poaching vessel spotters. UAV's are
excellent for this as they pose no threat to humans in case of an
engine failure over the ocean. They're also quiet and hard to detect.
One hydrogen UAV in the US can fly for over 7 hours on 1 load of fuel.
There are many great reasons for UAV's to be flying on hydrogen.
Become Part of the Team
I'll no longer be copying these newsletters to you manually. If you
wish to receive these updates, share your thoughts and be a member of
the FlyH2 Community, please make sure you subscribe to the group. This
can be done by signing up for a Google Account (if you don't already
have one) and applying for membership. I encourage you all to do this.
Please do to http://groups.google.com/group/flyh2. For more
information on the project, please visit our web site at http://www.flyh2.com
Thank you for your time,
Mark