APPLICATION SPECIFIC AIRFRAME DESIGN

AND MANUFACTURING
COMPLETE PAYLOAD/AVIONICS/AIRFRAME SYSTEM INTEGRATION
USER TRAINING AND FIELD OPERATIONS

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Long Endurance Workhorse

The T-16 is a rugged, high persintence UAV suitable for commercial and military applications where reliability and extended persistence are required. Typical endurance ranges from 12 to 24 hours depending on payload weight and fuel load. The T-16 is a Tier-II class airplane with a wingspan over 11 feet and a generous fuselage providing 729 cu. in. of internal payload space. 12 lb of fuel can be carried in the T-16’s wings freeing up the entire fuselage for payload mounting if required. The T-16 is a workhorse UAV designed to carry payloads up to 18 pounds and provide extensive airborne time over selected targets.

Rugged Airframe

The T-16 is constructed of fiberglass, Kevlar, and carbon fiber. Arcturus UAV’s proprietary Hollow Molded process produces an airframe of unequalled ruggedness capable of withstanding harsh field operations typical of the small UAV environment. The T-16 is service friendly: the engine module, wings, and rear stabilizer are all designed to be easily removed for service or exchange.

Power Options

Standard on the T-16 is the Honda GX-50 4-stroke gasoline engine. Maximum speed is 80 knots, cruise 50 knots, and loiter 34 knots. With standard carburetion the operating ceiling is 12,000 ft density altitude. The GX-50 can be fitted with fuel injection for improved efficiency and an increase in maximum density altitude of 15,000 feet or more. Higher power engines are also available.

Large Payload Area

The payload area in the T-16 is a contiguous 6.75” x 6.75” x 16”, providing 729 cu. in. of space for a wide variety of potential payloads. Payload weights can be up to approximately 18 lb. with a full load of fuel in the wings.

Electrical Flexibility

The T-16 has an oversized 218 watt generator and power management system that can supply a variety of voltages for all avionics and payloads on a continuous basis. Battery backup for avionics is standard and also available for payload.

Avionics

The T-16 is integrated with Cloud Cap Technology’s GPS based Piccolo II autopilot, providing autonomous launch, flight and landing. Piccolo II’s built-in MicroHard transmitter provides 12 miles of Command & Control (C2) communication range, and a military version provides a range of 23 miles. An Iridium (satellite) transceiver can be used to augment communication, providing global C2 coverage. Another C2 option is Raytheon’s MicroLight transceiver which has a singular range of 300 miles, and can be augmented with up to six repeaters. Additionally, the MicroLight can be configured to transmit still or low rate video images. In the event of interrupted C2 communication the Piccolo II continues to execute a stored pre-planned mission and returns to land at a pre-determined location autonomously.

Catapult Launch

The T-16 is launched from an Arcturus UAV pneumatic catapult that uses either compressed air or nitrogen. A trailer mounted version of the launcher has enough room to hold the cases for the T-16 and its spares, accessories and tools, and a portable version is also available.

Ground Station

Arcturus UAV’s portable ground control station provides ground support and control of the Piccolo II autopilot. The rugged carrying case contains a laptop computer that is used to display onboard telemetry and to modify mission parameters during flight. The carrying case has a position for a second laptop for control of imaging or communication payloads.

Sensor Packages

A number of sensor packages are offered on the T-16 including the TASE stabilized gimbal from Cloud Cap with EO and/or IR cameras for day/night viewing. All EO sensing systems use the Sony Block camera shown below, and either 320 x 240 or 640 x 480 IR sensors (subject to ITAR regulations). Digital or analog video transmission is provided with each video sensor package.

System Health & Diagnostics

The following avionics diagnostic information and meteorological sensor suite data is provided by the autopilot and displayed on the Ground Control Station: T - The temperature of the main board in the autopilot in degrees Celsius . These boards have been tested by the manufacturer to operate between –40 to 85°C (-40 to 185°F). Received Signal Strength (RSSI). The receive signal strength indicator from the MicroHard radio (avionics data link) displays in units of dBm. Link quality is presented as a percentage from 0 to 100, which represents the acknowledgment ratio.

Electrical Status.

The following are displayed:

Input current to the main board in the autopilot in amps; Input voltage to the main board in the autopilot in volts. Provision is made to read servo voltages and currents, and a value called “Internal” is a composite signal of all the internal voltages on the avionics.

Winds. The winds group displays the latest data from the wind-finding engine by maneuver calculation. The time of the wind calculation is also provided, as is estimated wind error.

Navigation System Health: This critical data is displayed in detail, updating several important parameters regarding the Kalman filter that estimates the attitude of the vehicle and the gyro biases.

The Piccolo II autopilot employs the ublox TIM-LP programmable GPS receiver module (ANTARIS Positioning Engine). This GPS receiver is fully EMI shielded and is tightly integrated into the Piccolo II autopilot. This GPS receiver has 16 channels and an update rate of 4 Hz. Its position accuracy is 2.5 meters (CEP), and when using Differential GPS/SBAS the accuracy is 2.0 meters CEP.