Detailed Study of Endurance and Takeoff Distance Effect on Pre-sizing of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of endurance and takeoff distance on the result of an adapted pre-sizing of an unmanned aerial vehicle (uav). Pre-sizing methods aim to define an initial geometry of the uav that necessitates little modifications in the next phase of uav design: detailed dimensioning. Endurance and takeoff distance are two important parameters, among others, that the end user wishes to control. The non-linear formulas and equations used in pre-sizing do not give a direct relation between these two parameters and the initial geometry. In this work, a summary presentation of an adapted pre-sizing method is given. A parametric study is then conducted of the effect of endurance and takeoff distance in two cases, an uav with one engine and one with two engines. The results will help to quantify and control the effect of the required parameters on the geometry at early stages of an uav design project and assist designers when they must choose one or two motors to better meet the end user's expectations.