Working of

Drones

Department of Mechanical Engineering

PAKISTAN INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCES
Page | 0
NILORE, ISLAMABAD 45650
 Working of

Drones
By:

Undisclosed
To:

Mr. Umar Faiz

November 27, 2014

Department of Mechanical Engineering

PAKISTAN INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCES
NILORE, ISLAMABAD 45650
1|Page
Executive Summary
This report is about working of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).It describes the working of
fixed wing unmanned aircraft. There are three principal axis about which an aircraft can
rotate. These are pitch, roll and yaw axis. Rotations about these axes produce different
motions.

During flight four forces act on aircraft lift, drag, thrust and weight of body. Lift balances the
weight of body while thrust should be greater than drag force. Wings of aircraft have tilt on
them and work on Bernoulli’s theorem. Angle of attack also plays an important role in
producing lift. Lift on aircraft can be change by changing the positions of elevator, ailerons
and rudder. This creates a moment on aircraft. Due to which aircraft rotates about one of
the axis.

Elevator, ailerons and rudder control the motion of an aircraft. Remote control gives
instructions to control station which further gives instructions to the elevator, ailerons and
rudder. These change positions and produced torque on aircraft. I only described the
working of fixed wing aircraft due to shortage of time. This report does not describe the
working of other unmanned aerial vehicles.

Page | 1
List of Contents
1 Introduction: ..................................................................................................................... 4
1.1 Background: ............................................................................................................... 4
1.2 Problem statement: ................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Objectives: ................................................................................................................. 4
1.4 Scope:......................................................................................................................... 4
1.5 Organization: ............................................................................................................. 4
1.6 Limitations: ................................................................................................................ 4
2 What are Drones? ............................................................................................................. 4
3 Aircraft principal axes: ...................................................................................................... 5
3.1 Vertical axis: ............................................................................................................... 5
3.2 Pitch axis: ................................................................................................................... 5
3.3 Longitudinal axis: ....................................................................................................... 5
4 Flight Concepts of Fixed Wing Unmanned Aircraft:.......................................................... 7
4.1 How do wings make lift?............................................................................................ 7
4.2 Airfoil: ........................................................................................................................ 7
4.3 Angle of attack: .......................................................................................................... 8
4.4 Lift: ............................................................................................................................. 8
5 Working: ............................................................................................................................ 8
5.1 Pitch Motion: ............................................................................................................. 8
5.2 Roll motion: ............................................................................................................... 9
5.3 Yaw motion: ............................................................................................................... 9
5.4 Motion Control: ....................................................................................................... 10
6 Conclusion: ...................................................................................................................... 10
7 Recommendations: ......................................................................................................... 11
Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 11
Glossary .............................................................................................................................. 13
List of Symbols ................................................................................................................. 14
References .......................................................................................................................... 15

2|Page
List of Figures
Figure 1: Position of three axes ................................................................................................ 6
Figure 2: Fixed wing aircraft ..................................................................................................... 6
Figure 3: Forces on aircraft....................................................................................................... 7
Figure 4: Streamlines around an airfoil .................................................................................... 7
Figure 5: Angle of attack........................................................................................................... 8
Figure 6: Motion Control ........................................................................................................ 10

3|Page
1 Introduction:
1.1 Background:
Bats were used to carry explosives into the enemy area. This was not a good idea. On August
22, 1849, Austrians used unmanned balloons loaded with explosives to attack the Italian city
of Venice. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were used in world wars to defeat enemies.
Technology has become more advanced. Developments are made in Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles so that they can be used for different purposes. Now they are being used for
domestic and development purpose.

1.2 Problem statement:

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are getting popular nowadays. I describe the working of
fixed wing unmanned aircraft.

1.3 Objectives:
Objective of this report is:

• To describe the working of fixed wing unmanned aircraft.

1.4 Scope:
The scope includes the weather condition, distance and space of fixed wing unmanned
aircrafts.

1.5 Organization:
Section 2 is about drones. Section 3 describes the principal axis of an aircraft. Section 4
describes flight concepts of an aircraft. Section 5 tells the working of fixed wing unmanned
aircraft. In Section 6 conclusion is described.

1.6 Limitations:
This report does not describe the working of other unmanned aerial vehicles.

2 What are Drones?

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are also known as drones. These aircrafts are controlled by
pilots from the ground. They are following a pre-programmed mission. There are many
different names for these aircrafts. They are called UAS (unpiloted air system), UAV
(unpiloted aerial vehicle), RPAS (remote piloted aircraft systems) and model aircraft. It has
become popular to refer to them as drones. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
classifies unmanned aircraft into two types:

1. Autonomous aircraft: They are not suited for civil regulation.

2. Remotely piloted aircraft: They are suited for civil regulation.

4|Page
Unmanned aircraft system consists of:

Unmanned Aircraft (UA)

• It carry payload.

Control System(CS)
• It include system operators.

Support Equipment
• It include maintenance and transport items.

3 Aircraft principal axes:

An aircraft in air is free to move in any direction. It can translate and rotate about any axis.
For rotation in any axes it has to produce torques about principal axis. There are three
principal axes in an aircraft. These are perpendicular to each other and intersect at center of
gravity. These are listed as:

• Vertical axis or yaw axis

• Transverse axis or pitch axis
• Longitudinal axis or roll axis

3.1 Vertical axis:

It is an axis through an aircraft. It is perpendicular to the body of wings. Its origin is at the
center of gravity. It is directed towards the bottom of the aircraft.

3.2 Pitch axis:

It is an axis from one wingtip to other wingtip. It is parallel to the body of wings. Its origin is
at the center of gravity.

3.3 Longitudinal axis:

It is an axis from nose to tail of aircraft. Its origin is at the center of gravity.

5|Page
 Figure 1: Position of three axes

Here is the figure of a fixed wing unmanned aircraft.

Figure 2: Fixed wing aircraft

6|Page
4 Flight Concepts of Fixed Wing Unmanned Aircraft:
Four forces act on an aircraft. These are:

1. Lift 3. Drag
2. Thrust 4. Weight

Figure 3: Forces on aircraft

• Lift exactly balances the drone’s weight.

• The thrust from the propellers always exceeds the drag (air resistance).

4.1 How do wings make lift?

Wings are the key to making something fly. Wings have a curved upper surface and a flatter
lower surface. It makes a cross-sectional shape called an airfoil. When air rushes over the
curved upper wing surface, it has to travel further and go slightly faster than the air that
passes underneath. According to Bernoulli's law, Fast-moving air is at lower pressure than
slow-moving air. So pressure above the wing is lower than the pressure below. It creates lift
that holds the plane up.

4.2 Airfoil:
An airfoil shaped body moved through a fluid produces aerodynamic forces. The component
of this force perpendicular to the direction of motion is called lift. The component parallel to
the direction of motion is called drag.

Figure 4: Streamlines around an airfoil

7|Page
4.3 Angle of attack:
Angle of attack is the angle between the body's reference line and the oncoming flow.
According to Isaac Newton's third law of motion, if air gives an upward force to aircraft, the
aircraft must give an equal and but opposite downward force to the air. So aircraft really
generates lift by using its wings to push air downward behind it. That happens because the
wings are not completely flat. They are tilted back very slightly so they hit the air at an angle
of attack. As a result, the wings direct the airflow downward, which pushes aircraft upward
and produces the lift.

Figure 5: Angle of attack

4.4 Lift:
The component of resultant force perpendicular to the direction of motion is called lift. A
fixed wing aircraft increases or decreases lift by changing angel of attack.

The component of resultant force parallel to the direction of motion is called drag. It is a
resistive force. It produces resistant in the motion of aircraft. But air craft is made
streamlined to reduce the effect of drag force.

5 Working:
An aircraft in air is free to move in any direction. Motion of an aircraft is complex. We can
make it simple by considering it as a combination of translation and rotation. Center of
gravity is a point where whole mass of aircraft is acted. Motion of center of mass is described
by Newton third law of motion. Forces are exerted in various direction and moments are
produced about center of gravity. These moments produce different types of motion.

For rotation about any axes it has to produce torques about principal axis. We produce
torque by different ways. This torque varies distribution of force about aircraft center of
gravity. So we got different motions.

5.1 Pitch Motion:

For pitch motion we rotate aircraft about transverse axis. Commands are given by pilot who
is far away from the aircraft. He uses remote to control the motion of aircraft. Aircraft is a

8|Page
function of remote control. Remote transmit electromagnetic waves which are received by
Control station in an aircraft. Control station receives electromagnetic waves and gives
instructions to elevator. Elevators adjusted its position in such a way that a resulted force
act on center of mass. This force creates a torque about center of gravity. Due to this moment
aircraft rotates about transverse axis. This type of motion is called pitch motion. In this
motion aircraft’s nose moves up and down.

Elevators are present on the rear of horizontal stabilizer. These work in the form of pair. Right
elevator moves up on the same time left elevator is also moves up and vice versa. Elevators
change the angle of deflection of airfoil. Due to this lift of aircraft is changed. When
downward deflection is greater upward lift is produced and vice versa. Lift act on center of
pressure of elevator. Horizontal stabilizer is at a distance from center of pressure. So a
moment is produced about center of gravity. So rotation of an aircraft takes place around
transverse axis.

5.2 Roll motion:

For roll motion we rotate aircraft about longitudinal axis. Commands are given to control
station by remote. Then control station give instructions to ailerons. They adjusted its
position in such a way to give a resultant force to aircraft. This force creates a torque about
center of gravity. Due to which aircraft rotates about longitudinal axis. This type of motion
is called roll motion. In this motion wings of an aircraft move up and down.

Ailerons work in opposite direction. Right ailerons moves up while left ailerons move down.
Ailerons change the angle of deflection of airfoil. Due to this lift of aircraft is changed. When
downward deflection is greater upward lift is produced and vice versa. Ailerons move in
opposite direction. They change bank angle by increasing the lift on one wing and decreasing
it on the other. This unbalances the forces and hence moment is produced. So rotation of an
aircraft takes place around vertical axis.

5.3 Yaw motion:

For yaw motion we rotate aircraft about vertical axis. Commands are given to control station
by remote. Control station gives instructions to rudder. It adjusted its position in such a way
to give a resultant force to aircraft. This force creates a torque about center of gravity. Due
to this aircraft rotates about vertical axis. This type of motion is called yaw motion. In yaw
motion nose of the aircraft moves from side to side.

Rudder is located at the rear of a vertical stabilizer. Rudder changes the angle of deflection
of airfoil. Due to which lift of aircraft is changed. This causes a side force on aircraft. When
rudder moves to left greater the side force on right side and vice versa. This side force act at
the center of pressure of rudder and vertical stabilizer is at a distance from center of gravity.

9|Page
Hence moment is produced about center of gravity. Due to which rotation of an aircraft takes
place around vertical axis.

5.4 Motion Control:

Motion of aircraft is controlled by elevator, ailerons and rudder.

• Pitch motion is controlled by elevators.

• Roll motion is controlled by ailerons.
• Yaw motion is controlled by Rudder.

Figure 6: Motion Control

Pilots rely on satellites to track the position of drones. From takeoff until it leaves the line of
sight it is controlled with direct data link from ground control station. When drone leaves the
line of sight then ground control station turned into a satellites link to control the aircraft.

6 Conclusion:
Fixed wing unmanned aircraft show three types of motion. These motions are controlled by
elevator, ailerons and rudders. Pilot uses remote to send electromagnetic waves. These are
received by control center which give instructions to elevator, ailerons and rudders. These
change their positions in such a way that a resultant force act on the body of aircraft. Due to
which a moment is produced on aircraft and it shows rotation about one of the principal axis.

10 | P a g e
7 Recommendations:
We can improve the flight of aircraft my enhancing the range in which aircraft can function
properly. Many new designs of fixed wing aircraft use wing warping. In this wings were wired
together in such a way that the outer panels of each wing could be twisted relative to the
inner panel. The twisting changed the angle of attack of sections of the wing which changed
the lift being generated by that section. Unequal forces on the wings caused the aircraft to
roll. Many modern airliners use a spoiler. It changes the shape of the airfoil, which changes
the lift. Hence roll motion is produced. It handles the aircraft more safely than ailerons.

Bibliography
1. Aircraft Roll Motion. National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA). [Online]
[Link]

2. Airplanes. EXPLAINTHATSTUFF! [Online]

[Link]

11 | P a g e
3. Banking Turn. National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA). [Online]
[Link]

4. White, Frank M. Flow Past Immersed Bodies. Fluid Mechanics. 4th. s.l. : McGraw-Hill, pp.
445-451.

5. Boulevard, Wilson. Unmanned Aircraft Systems. [Link]. [Online]

[Link]

6. Aerial Assassins: Drones. Read Digest. [Online] [Link]

drone/.

7. How drones are controlled. Washingtonpost. [Online]

[Link]
work/.

12 | P a g e
Glossary

Air foils It is the shape of a wing or blade of an aircraft.

Ailerons A hinged surface in the trailing edge of an aircraft wing

Elevator A hinged surface at the rear of horizontal stabilizer on aircraft

Rudder It is a primary control surface used to steer an aircraft

13 | P a g e
List of Symbols

UAVs Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

UAS Unpiloted Air System

RPAS Remote Piloted Aircraft Systems

ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization

UA Unmanned Aircraft

CS Control Station

14 | P a g e
References
1. Aircraft Roll Motion. National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA). [Online]
[Link]

2. Airplanes. EXPLAINTHATSTUFF! [Online]

[Link]

3. Banking Turn. National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA). [Online]

[Link]

4. White, Frank M. Flow Past Immersed Bodies. Fluid Mechanics. 4th. s.l. : McGraw-Hill, pp.
445-451.

5. What are drones? Drone Wars UK. [Online] [Link]

6. Simple Working Principle of the UAV Autopilot-Take YS09 as an Example. RC

[Link]. [Online] [Link]

7. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT. [book auth.] Mrs Ann Austin. [ed.] Roy Lagton Aon Moir.
UNMANNED AIRCRAFT. s.l. : John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2010.

8. Cavoukian, Ann. Privacy and Drones. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. [Online] Augus t 2012.
[Link]

15 | P a g e