Abstract:

In the recent years, the investment in the sector of RPAS (Remoted Piloted Aircraft System) has increased substantially. Furthermore, the number of civil missions which these aircraft can achieve is in continuous growth. Additionally, the importance of emissions in aviation is a fact to be considered, thus great efforts are being made to reduce the pollution and noise of these aircraft, especially near urban zones. The future perspective is that of a continuous reduction in these emissions, where electric power-plants are becoming a fundamental part of the solution.

Thus, in Aerospace Engineering School of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid a new project about designing and manufacturing an electric drone called Libis is being developed. This project is carried out by a group of professors and students, who collaborate among them to obtain an operative aircraft for researching activities. This RPA (Remoted Piloted Aircraft) is a very suitable solution to accommodate all the tendencies of this market unified into a single product. From the viewpoint of green aviation, it takes the previously mentioned objectives a step further, as the electric power-plant proves very advantageous regarding both objectives of green aviation: eliminating pollution and reducing noise. Also, from the standpoint of developing new technologies, it can also prove valuable as a low-cost platform for testing a wide variety of new equipment.

The project was born because of the competition “Cargo Drone Challenge” organized by Airbus and Local Motors in May 2016. The competition established some initial requirements for designing a drone which had the capability of vertical taking-off and landing. In addition, the interval to do this was around a month and a half. So, several professors and PhD students of the School decided to set up a group of members of the school in order to participate in this challenge. The team was formed by two professors, two PhD students, one aeronautical engineer, two master in aeronautical engineering students and seven bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering students. The team was leaded by the professors and the PhD students, because of their wider experience. They organized the tasks and distributed them among the students, establishing a strict calendar in order to reach results in time.

Despite the short period of time available, the results were so positive. In fact, Libis was selected for the final phase of the challenge, where it was not possible to win. However, the experience for the students, and even for the professors, was very rewarding and amazing. This project allowed the students to be part of a work-team that put them closer to an actual job. They had to teamwork to reach the objective and to solve critical problems that appeared along the challenge. Finally, having the possibility of participating in the design project of a drone is a great opportunity for the students to join all the knowledge achieved along their studies into a common goal, because these kinds of aircraft allow the designers to be part of all the design stages, which in case of commercial transport aviation is almost impossible. One sign of the success of this project is that the project continues developing and growing in the present, after the ending of the competition, with new students who want to contribute to become Libis to be first drone 100% designed and manufactured in the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

Keywords:

Drones, design, research project, project-based learning.