Aerospace · Aerodynamics

UAV Aerodynamic Design & Testing

Intermediate 5 weeks 35-60 hours

Build a foam RC glider you design, then flight-test it with a small data logger to measure glide ratio and stability. Iterate the design based on real flight data.

Major

Aerospace

Focus area

Aerodynamics

Total hours

35-60 hours

What you'll need

  • EPP foam board sheets for RC aircraft
  • MPU6050 6-axis accelerometer gyroscope IMU sensor module
  • Arduino Nano V3 ATmega328P mini microcontroller board
  • MG996R metal gear servo motor 2 pack
  • brushless BLDC motor with 30A ESC for RC drone
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Steps

  1. Design a glider and calculate wing area, center of gravity, and tail size.
  2. Cut and build the glider from EPP foam and mount the servos.
  3. Build a flight logger with the IMU and Arduino Nano.
  4. Flight-test in an open field and log flight data.
  5. Calculate glide ratio and study stability from the data.
  6. Modify the design, test again, and document both versions for your portfolio.

What to photograph for your portfolio

  • Glider build
  • flight data logs
  • glide ratio measurement
  • design iteration results

Resume bullet starters

Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.

  • Engineered a UAV aerodynamic design & testing using Aircraft design, aerodynamics, flight testing

  • Applied data logging to implement, test, and validate the analysis end-to-end

Skills you'll show off

Aircraft designaerodynamicsflight testingdata logging

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