Wind Tunnel Research moves outdoors with flight testing of a Fixed-Wing Flying Meteorological System. The latest in a recent series of projects in aerial meteorology, focused on gathering wind data in location not accessible by traditional sensors, this work aims to improve atmospheric models, and hence wind resilience, through increased data availability.
Previously using multirotors, this year has seen the introduction of a fixed-wing aircraft. The airframe is an off-the-shelf Voantex Ranger 2400, modified to allow for recording aircraft motion and flight parameters, autonomous flight, and carries an ultrasonic anemometer for atmospheric sampling. A fixed-wing aircraft brings challenges in correcting the data because of the high speed of the aircraft relative to the wind and the lack of a consistent sensor location.
A short video has been released on our Youtube channel and in the Gallery, showing a portion of a recent test flight of the aircraft, checking the behaviour of the aircraft under manual and autonomous control. To find out more about this project, head to the Current Projects page for details.
Special thanks to the Tamaki Model Aircraft Club (www.tmac.co.nz) for hosting us for the flight tests.
This project is funded by the Warwick and Judy Smith Engineering Endowment Fund
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