Design Your Search and Rescue Drone

City of South Lake Tahoe Wildfire Mitigation UAS Project Requirements

• Design a unmanned aircraft system for detecting and monitoring wildfires

• The aircraft must be able to take off and land safely and reliably in small places, and within the high-wind conditions of South Lake Tahoe

• The aircraft weight should be such that it can be operated under FAA Part 107 rules

• For transportation purposes, aircraft must fit inside a box with a size of 1.1m

• The system must be able to monitor wildfires for at least 30 minutes per battery charge
  
  

  Design Requirements and Constraints Table

  Airframe Configuration
  Payload Mass [kg]
  Maximum Airframe Size [mm]
  Minimum Flight Time [min]
  Maximum Aircraft Weight [kg]

  
  

Select Your Drone Configuration

The next step in the design process is to select the best UAV configuration for this mission. Describe why a multicopter configuration is an adequate option for this mission, as opposed to a fixed-wing or VTOL aircraft.  Select which type of multicopter UAV configuration you would like to use for this mission (choose between quadcopter, hexacopter, or octocopter), and describe your rationale.

Select your Payload

The next step is to consider the payload that the aircraft will carry.  The aircraft will be designed around the weight and size of this payload. Describe the type of sensor you would choose for this particular mission, and provide your rationale.  Search online for an adequate sensor brand and model, and provide your rationale for your selection.  Note the weight of this sensor.

Summarize Design Requirements

Summarize your design requirements and constraints in the table below.  We will use this information as a basis to create our design.

Click Here to Begin the SIMNET Tutorial

• The following values will stay fixed during the design iteration process: 

• Airframe Configuration: Select the multicopter configuration of your choice (quadcopter, hexacopter, or octocopter)
• Airframe Construction Weight: This parameter specifies whether the aircraft’s airframe has a lightweight, medium, or heavyweight construction.  For your aircraft, set this value to ‘Medium’
• Payload Type: Select the ‘Payload Mass’ option.
• Payload Mass [kg]: Enter the mass of your chosen payload, in kilograms

• Iteratively change the following values in the table, until you reach a design that matches your design requirements (airframe size, flight time, and aircraft weight).
• Propeller Pitch [% of Propeller Diameter]: The propeller pitch is a measure of the ‘twist’ of the propeller blades.  A value of around 33% provides the best flight time.  Higher values may increase the aircraft’s top speed, at the expense of lower flight time.
• Target Thrust to Weight Ratio: This value determines the maximum thrust that the propulsion system can deliver.  Higher values make the aircraft more maneuverable, but result in a heavier and more expensive aircraft, with lower flight time.
• Battery Weight [% of Aircraft Weight]: The size of the battery, expressed as a percentage of the total aircraft weight.
• Battery Cell Count: The number of cells used by the battery.  Higher numbers are required for high thrust-to-weight aircraft, or large aircraft.  If the Designer Pane provides you a ‘Design Warning’, you may find you need to adjust this value.  Otherwise, you may leave it at the default value.

• Once you find a design that matches your design requirements, click on the ‘Generate Design’ button.  Note that any changes made in the Designer Pane will not be applied to the current design (and will not reflect on the Viewer and Performance panes) until you click on the ‘Generate Design’ button. Choose a name for your UAS, and save your design by clicking on ‘Aircraft->Save As’ on SIMNET’s toolbar.