This semester's project dealt with economizing cargo operations using the improved aerodynamic efficiency afforded by formation flight. The final report, "Architecture and Evaluation of a Formation Flight System for Existing Cargo Aircraft," was submitted for publication and is cited below. The detailed studies upon which the report was based are linked below as "Reference Material for a Proposed Formation Flight System." The resources in this section are organized by class of deliverable.
Final Written Report
Brachet et al. "Architecture and Evaluation of a Formation Flight System for Existing Cargo Aircraft." AIAA, 2004, preprint.
Reference Material for a Proposed Formation Flight System (PDF 1 of 2 - 1.7 MB) (PDF 2 of 2 - 1.6 MB) (Courtesy of the following students: J. B. Brachet, R. Cleaz, Amandine Denis, Adam Diedrich, Dan King, Paul Mitchell, Daniel Morales, Jean-François Onnée, Theresa Robinson, Olivier Toupet, and Brian Wong. Used with permission.)
Final Oral Presentation
Formation Flight Feasibility Study (PDF - 1.6 MB)
Back-up Slides (PDF)
Individual Oral Presentations
| STUDENTS | TOPICS |
|---|---|
| Richard Cléaz-Savoyen | Formation Flight: A Possible Approach to Commercial and Military Cargo Transport (PDF) (Courtesy of R. Cleaz. Used with permission.) |
| Amandine Denis | Formation Flight Aerodynamic Performance (PDF) (Courtesy of Amandine Denis. Used with permission.) |
| Adam Diedrich | Air Transport Systems Cost and Weight Analysis (PDF) (Courtesy of Adam Diedrich. Used with permission.) |
| Dan King | Military Cargo Needs, Market, and Metrics (PDF) (Courtesy of Dan King. Used with permission.) |
| Paul Mitchell | Autonomous Flight Control and Software Literature Review (PDF) (Courtesy of Paul Mitchell. Used with permission.) |
| Dan Morales | Commercial Cargo Needs, Market, and Metrics (PDF) (Courtesy of Daniel Morales. Used with permission.) |
| Jean-François Onnée | Human Factors in Formation Flights for Air Cargo Delivery (PDF) (Courtesy of Jean-François Onnée. Used with permission.) |
| Theresa Robinson | Multidisciplinary System Design Methods (PDF) (Courtesy of Theresa Robinson. Used with permission.) |
| Olivier Toupet | Formation Flight Project: Aircraft Stability and Control (PDF) (Courtesy of Olivier Toupet. Used with permission.) |
| Brian Wong | Communications System Architectures for Autonomous Formation Flight (PDF) (Courtesy of Brian Wong. Used with permission.) |