Aviationista

Within ERAU’s Virtual Hub I designed a UAS for a simulated missing hiker mission. The specific system I selected was a DJI Spreading Wings UAS - Condor Octorotor. The reason I selected this was mainly for the way it looked, but also assumed the amount of rotors would provide better stability to unknown disturbances and wind turbulence. The UAS performed positively after some trial and error during the design phase. Communication range remained at a moderate level during design no matter what configurations I chose. This was due to the fact I was using the man portable GCS. The trailer GSC provided for 100% communication range but with the missions terrain and elevation I assumed it would not be a feasible choice in real life. During the mission I kept running into the issue of the UAS crashing and burning. I believe this was due to the speed that was initially set to 80 m/s. I then set the speed to 60 m/s and that appeared to be the perfect pace for the UAS as it did not overheat or cr...

Unmanned systems are that which operate either partially or fully autonomously with little to none human interaction. These types of systems can come in any shape or form with either ground or flying capabilities depending on a specific mission. Unmanned technology allows us to operate beyond our own capabilities and provide insight into elements we may have never been able to explore.  Not only do unmanned systems provide a means to go beyond normal human capability, they also provide enhanced mission safety along with a reduction to operational costs. One way unmanned systems allow for safer missions is through the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to fly over or through dangerous areas or remote locations without subjecting someone to potentially hazardous environments. Overall costs are also reduced through the decreased use of material and manpower.  Unmanned systems are available for your everyday use. You may have interacted with unmanned systems without even realiz...

Human factors play an important role within the aviation industry, particularly within Unmanned Arial Vehicle (UAV) operations. There is still a need for human interaction despite the “unmanned” aspect, therefore resulting in human factor issues. These issues include system failures, crew training, sensory cue deprivation, and many other factors regarding UAV and human interaction interfaces. System Failures UAV systems differ immensely regarding the degrees of freedom in which controls allow human interactions. These controls restrict or authorize an operator in how they interact with the UAVs performance and operation. It is concluded that further research be conducted to determine which UAV operations are best suited to be autonomous or controlled by an operator. Crew Training Thorough and appropriate training along with meticulous crew selection is necessary to reduce human factor issues regarding UAV operations. Ensuring crew members partake in essential UAV training may provide f...

Hello - My name is Elizabeth and I am currently pursuing my masters degree in Aeronautics. My goal is to be finished by the end of 2021, preferably by August.  This blog is dedicated to all things relating to aviation. Currently, posts will be based on the requirements for my aviation related Master classes. Thanks for viewing! Thanks,  EMW