Flight Test Techniques for UAS – Online Short Course 4 May 2027 - 27 May 2027 Online

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Flight Test Techniques for UAS – Online Short Course


  • From 4–27 May 2027 (4 Weeks, 8 Classes, 16 Total Hours)
  • Every Tuesday and Thursday at 1–3 p.m. Eastern Time (all sessions will be recorded and available for replay; course notes will be available for download)
  • This unique course on Flight Testing specific to UAS provides participants with overview, objectives, theory, techniques, software, and analysis methods for development, qualification, and acceptance tests of UAS.
  • All students will receive an AIAA Certificate of Completion at the end of the course.

OVERVIEW

Flight Test Techniques for UAS provides participants with a comprehensive overview of the objectives, theory, techniques, software, and analysis methods for development, qualification, and acceptance tests of UAS. The course is a practical guide to the flight test methods needed to assess the performance and characteristics of experimental UAS. Flight control software is provided to the participants that can be used directly on Pixhawk hardware or adapted to any other flight control system. The software, written for the open-source PX4 flight stack, provides a mechanism to perform flight test maneuvers using manual control, augmented control, or automatic control.

The various methods of performing the flight test maneuvers distinguish UAS flight testing from the techniques used for conventional, piloted aircraft. Flight test maneuvers for UAS include techniques to evaluate flight performance, flight dynamics, flight controls, handling qualities, structures, flight envelope, and systems. Each session focuses on the motivation, planning, execution, analysis, and reporting of a specific type of flight test.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Participants will understand the fundamental types of flight test techniques used for aircraft
  • Participants will identify how UAS flight test techniques differ from methods for crewed aircraft
  • Participants will learn how to safely design, plan, and scope flight tests for UAS
  • Participants will use open-source flight control software to design flight tests using manual, augmented, and autonomous control
  • Participants will use MATLAB analysis software to reduce the flight data generated from the UAS flight tests
  • Participants will identify aircraft performance metrics such as maximum range, maximum endurance, maximum climb rate, best glide ratio, and the associated airspeeds
  • Participants will develop dynamic models to represent the lateral-directional and longitudinal dynamics of the aircraft
  • Participants will identify the aerodynamic, structural, and airspeed flight envelope limits of the aircraft

AUDIENCE
Flight Test Techniques for UAS is intended for students, engineers, pilots, remote pilots, and others who are involved in the development and testing of fixed-wing and rotary-wing uncrewed aircraft. Participants will see flight data from academic and industry flight tests for practical exposure to methods that will help them conduct tests faster, more efficiently, and with better results.

COURSE FEES (Sign-In To Register)

– AIAA Member Price: $895 USD
– AIAA Student Member Price: $495 USD
– Non-Member Price: $1,095 USD

CLASSROOM HOURS / CEUs: 16 classroom hours / 1.6 CEU/PDH

Cancellation Policy: A refund less a $50.00 cancellation fee will be assessed for all cancellations made in writing prior to 5 days before the start of the event. After that time, no refunds will be provided.

Contact: Please contact Lisa Le or Customer Service if you have any questions about the course or group discounts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Outline

OUTLINE

1. Session 1: Introduction to UAS Flight Testing

1.1. Types of Flight Tests

1.2. Flight Test Methods for Manual, Augmented, and Autonomous UAS

1.3. The Flight Test Process

1.4. Defining Flight Test Objectives and Flight Card Design

1.5. Flight Data Analysis and Reporting

2. Session 2: Flight Performance

2.1. Thrust and Power Required

2.2. Level Flight Performance

2.3. Climb Performance

2.4. Glide Performance

3. Session 3: Flight Envelope

3.1. Aerodynamic Limits

3.2. Structural Limits

3.3. Airspeed Limits

4. Session 4: Flight Dynamics

4.1. Longitudinal Dynamics

4.2. Lateral-Directional Dynamics

4.3. Transfer Function and State-Space Modeling

4.4. System Identification

5. Session 5: Control Systems

5.1. Control Architecture and Feedback Law

5.2. Programmed Test Inputs

5.3. Broken-Loop Stability Assessment

5.4. Closed-Loop Performance Assessment

6. Session 6: Guidance, Navigation, and Systems

6.1. Airspeed and Altitude Guidance

6.2. Waypoint Navigation

6.3. Takeoff, Landing, and Terminal Maneuvers

6.4. Systems Evaluation and Assessment

7. Session 7: Rotary-Wing Performance

7.1. Flight Dynamics

7.2. Hover and Translational Flight

7.3. Climbing and Descending Flight

7.4. Control Response and Stability

8. Session 8: Ephemeral UAS

8.1. Unique Challenges of Testing Single-Use and Unrecoverable UAS

8.2. Air-Dropped UAS

8.3. Rocket-Launched UAS

8.4. Extra-Planetary UAS

Materials

COURSE DELIVERY AND MATERIALS

  • The course lectures will be delivered via Zoom. Access to the Zoom classroom will be provided to registrants near to the course start date.
  • All sessions will be available on-demand within 1-2 days of the lecture. Once available, you can stream the replay video anytime, 24/7.
  • All slides will be available for download after each lecture. No part of these materials may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted, unless for course participants. All rights reserved.
  • Between lectures during the course, the instructor(s) will be available via email for technical questions and comments.
Instructors

Dr. Mujahid Abdulrahim is an associate professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Missouri Kansas City. He was a fellow at the US Air Force Test Pilot School under the AFRL Summer Faculty Fellowship Program where he helped develop curriculum modules to teach UAS flight test methods. He has more than 20 years of experience in UAS flight test across a range of scales and vehicle configurations. He worked at AeroVironment developing flight control laws for several aircraft types. He has developed autopilot hardware and software for many platforms, including extensive development with open-source Pixhawk systems. He is also a flight instructor for single-engine, multi-engine, instrument, and glider aircraft with much of his flight instruction focused on flight testing experimental aircraft.

 

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