Retrofitting of an Ultralight Aircraft for Unmanned Flight and Parachute Cargo Drops

Abstract

Despite the increasing interest in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), their adoption in commercial flight operations invariably meets with skepticism, mainly on the basis of safety and reliability concerns, as well as poor payload and endurance of available - generally rotary-wing - platforms. However, specific missions exist where higher-weight UAVs may be employed, specifically to serve wild or disadvantaged areas, far from crowded regions, and transporting medical aids or food. Clearly a niche too small to be considered profitable as a market for a new design by industry, this requirement can be fulfilled through the partial redesign of an aircraft in the light sport aircraft (LSA) weight class. Based on a set of specifications discussed with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the present paper analyzes the feasibility of a mission where medical aids are carried over a prescribed route by means of a UAV, and parachute-dropped on the target area. A candidate for the proposed mission is found in an existing LSA. Its optimal use and the corresponding retrofitting steps to fit within the prescriptions of the mission are proposed and critically discussed. © 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.