Unmanned Aerospace Systems

Scenario: Two subsystems – 1) Guidance, Navigation & Control [flying correctly] and 2) Payload delivery [spraying correctly] have attempted to save costs by purchasing off-the-shelf hardware, rather than a custom design, resulting in both going over their originally allotted weight budgets. Each team has suggested that the OTHER team reduce weight to compensate. The UAS will not be able to carry sufficient weight to spread the specified (Marketing has already talked this up to customers) amount of fertilizer over the specified area without cutting into the fuel margin. The safety engineers are uncomfortable with the idea of changing the fuel margin at all. How would you go about fixing the problem? Solution: Both the Guidance, Navigation, Control team, and Payload delivery team need to draft up a new proposal on how much it would cost if they built their own units in house. Within the proposals I would have them provide options for construction outlines for the lightest po...

Unmanned Aerospace Systems - Blog by John Van Geem During the Cold War, the Soviet Union had a rapidly growing submarine fleet that posed an ever pressing threat on the United States. As a part of the initiative to counter the Soviet Unions submarines, the U.S. Navy developed the QH-50 DASH. This DASH was the first unmanned helicopter sent out to preform and operational role in combat (Keane, 2013).  Showcasing a Gyrodyne-Prosche engine, the QH-50 mades it’s first flight in 1960, at Patuxent River NAS in Maryland (Keane, 2013). Throughout the 1960’s eight hundred of the QH-50’s where put through production (Keane, 2013). The DASH had the capability of caring Mk-44 homing torpedoes, Mark 17 depth charges, could drop flares and sonobuoys, and also participate in transport, rescue, and cargo operations (Keane, 2013). The DASH was able to be remotely piloted from a variety of platforms such as a destroyer, ground vehicle, or aircraft (Keane, 2013). Later in the late ...