FURI | Spring 2020

Instrument Design for Aircraft Performance Measurement

The research team’s interest in this project is prompted by the lack of knowledge of electric aircraft performance. Research is conducted via the development of instruments onboard an electric aircraft platform. Instruments equipped measure thrust, angle of attack, orientation, altitude, airspeed, battery current/voltage, motor RPM and internal temperature. The functional suite of sensors onboard the aircraft logs performance characteristics onto a custom flight controller for analysis. As a result, electric the aircraft can be effectively tuned in throttling power which could be used to maximize an aircraft’s range and efficiency aligning with the Fulton research theme of energy.