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Developing the aircraft performance requirements

The aircraft performance requirements outlined in the following sections detail expectations that the
aircraft must meet. The expectations are developed from the objectives of the design requirements
specification. The main objectives highlight need for high speed fight, stability and maneuverability.

Functional Requirements
These requirements provides a basis of ideas for designing and manufacturing a new model aircraft for
the competition. The ideas are derived from the competition rules as stipulated in the competition
description document. The functional requirements include the aircraft type, tasks fulfilled by the
aircraft and how the aircraft must take off. The requirements are detailed as follows;
• Aircraft type
As described in the competition description document, the aircraft must be a fixed wing aircraft
and it must fly largely due to the aerodynamic effects of it’s wings.
• Tasks fulfilled by the aircraft
The main task of the aircraft is to fly as fast as possible and successfully complete a race.
• Runway Requirement
The aircraft must be able to take from a runway. The runway may be paved.

Technical Requirements and Performance Requirements


These requirements establish flight characteristics of the aircraft. They also specify conditions for
reliable and safe operation of the aircraft. A list of technical requirements is detailed below and it is not
in order of importance.
1. High cruise speed
A maximum speed of 50m/s is chosen as a balance between minimizing flight time between the
pylons and being able to turn quickly at the pylons.
2. Time to set-up between flights
Although setting up time limit between flights or before the first flight is not stipulated in the
competition description, a set-up time of less than 5 minutes is chosen for the design.
3. High fuel efficiency
High fuel efficiency of the aircraft means low aircraft drag and increased lift of the aircraft.
Thus, the lift capacity of the aircraft is ……….. Drag of…...
4. Good taking-off and landing performance
The maximum taken between motor start and entering the race track is 30 seconds. This
requires a short take-off time. Maximum target take-off time is set to 20 seconds to eliminate a
possible of late entry into the race track. Landing time is limited to 60 seconds after completing
the race.
5. Size
The minimum wing span must be 1000mm as measured from wing tip to wing tip as specified
by the competition rules.
6. Weight
The target weight of the fully assembled aircraft is less than 3kg. Minimizing weight improves
the performance of the aircraft.
7. Maintenance and repair
The aircraft must be easily reparable with common tools and equipment.
It is important to determine the order of importance of the requirements so that it is clear which
requirements take preference in major decision making during the design. Also, this helps to identify
influential requirements in case of contradicting requirements. The following table compares all the
requirements and gives a score for each requirement relative to all the other requirements. The most
important requirement obtains a score of 2 when compared to a less important requirement which
scores 0. Requirements of equal importance each obtains a score of 1.

Table 1.1: Ranking of requirements


Requirement number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Total Score
1 - 2 1 1 1 2 2 9
2 0 - 0 0 0 1 1 2
3 1 2 - 2 1 2 2 10
4 1 2 0 - 1 2 2 8
5 1 2 1 1 - 2 2 9
6 0 1 0 0 0 - 2 3
7 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 1

It can be seen from the table that requirement number 1, and number 5 both obtained a total score of 9.
However, when the two requirements were compared, requirement 1 was given a higher importance
preference because requirement 5 only specifies the minimum span size and thus it is a flexible
requirement. As depicted by the total ranking score, the following list of the requirements shows a
decreasing order of importance.
1. High Aircraft efficiency
2. High cruise speed
3. Size
4. Good taking-off and landing performance
5. Weight
6. Set-up time between flights
7. Maintenance and repair

The following figure shows the race track and some aircraft operational requirements mapped onto it.

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