U.E.S.A

Overview

U.E.S.A is a utility ESTOL (Extremely Short Take-off & Landing) aircraft designed by a team of students in the Technion. This project is an attempt to take advantage of the USB (Upper Surface Blowing) effect which was studied by NASA in the late 60’s and data regarding the increase in lift (up to CL=8) for 4 turbo-prop engine configurations which is available in those reports. The goal was to reduce the required takeoff and landing range by increasing the maximal lift. Other challenges introduced in this project were the requirements for an environmentally friendly aircraft which uses electrical energy and has a low sound signature.

The System

Beechcraft 1900D – utility aircraft for 18 passengers was chosen as the base platform for the ESTOL and propulsion system upgrade. For USB effect implementation  the 2 existing turbo-prop engines were replaced by 4 electrical engines designed by Tesla, those engines were installed on the wing in a manner that allows the majority of the wing surface to be blown by the propellers wake and by this achieving higher pressure gradients. High performance lithium-air batteries (which are still in development) were chosen to store the electrical energy providing the required range for the aircraft. The aircraft propeller was optimized for the chosen propulsion system, the required power and low noise signature.
The final geometric configuration was dictated by the desired aerodynamic performance, restoration of aircraft handling qualities and compatibility for the new propulsion system. The wing and the fuselage designed as a 2 piece honeycomb composite structure taking advantage of the superior qualities of composite materials as well as reduction of weight and ease of assembly.
Weight & balance and flight performance analysis were performed on the final configuration confirming that the design criteria were met. In addition development plan and costs estimations were obtained.