SATPC0026409 Tab 4 SOW.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

Commercial Prototyping of a Drone/Aircraft Small Scale Flying Prototype or

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

1. Objective The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is requesting proposals from contractors interested in and capable of supporting its requirements for the development of a prototype for a Drone/Aircraft Small Scale Flying Prototype capable of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The Contractor shall design and build one small-scale flying prototype of one of the aircraft configurations as described in U.S. Patent No. 10,370,100, titled “Aerodynamically Actuated Thrust Vectoring Devices.” A similar instantiation to the embodiment shown in Figure 5 of the patent is desired (i.e. a tiltwing with a wing that freely rotates about a longitudinal axis.) Other instantiations shown in the patent will be considered upon coordination with the NASA technical contact. The intent of this prototyping activity is to bring the patented technology to a higher technology readiness level and to gain a better understanding of the nuances of the technology for future licensing and/or further research at NASA.

Patent Figure 5

2. Requirements and Specifications

2.1 The Contractor shall deliver one Drone/Aircraft Small Scale Flying prototype capable of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), in other words called the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to NASA Langley Research Center for flight testing by NASA.

2.2 The UAV shall be consistent with the technology claimed in U.S. Patent No. 10,370,100, titled “Aerodynamically Actuated Thrust Vectoring Devices.” Figure 5 is the desired configuration (i.e. a tiltwing with a wing that freely rotates about a longitudinal axis.) Other configurations shown in the patent will be considered upon coordination with the NASA technical contact.

2.3 The UAV shall have a total minimum flight time in hover of five (5) minutes, which includes take-off and landing.

2.4 The UAV shall have a minimum flight time for a total flight (hover-forward flight-hover) of eight (8) minutes.

2.5 The UAV shall have a maximum wing born (cruise) flight time of 3 minutes.

2.6 The UAV shall have a maximum flight speed for straight and level forward flight shall be no more than fifty (50) miles per hour. Slower speeds are desired.

2.7 The UAV shall NOT be a lighter-than-air solution.

2.8 The UAV shall be all-electric propulsion using lithium polymer batteries (li-po).

2.9 The UAV (each vehicle including batteries) shall have an all-up-weight (AUW) of no less than 12 pounds and no more than 20 pounds.

2.10 The UAV airframe outer skin construction shall be made of composite materials.

(fiberglass or carbon fiber and molded or foam core with composite skin are acceptable).

Internal support using 3-D printed materials with composite or metal spar in the wing are acceptable. A combination of composite and 3-D printed materials is also acceptable.

2.11 The UAV fuselage shall always maintain a generally horizontal attitude during all phases of flight. A slight nose-up attitude in climb and a slight nose-down attitude in descent are allowed.

2.12 The UAV shall possess the capability of wing tilting and overall vehicle attitude control.

2.13 Note: Aerodynamic surfaces labeled as 550 a/b and 560 a/b in Patent Figure 5 is not required but may be included. Main wing trailing edge control surfaces alone may be used to effect wing tilting and overall vehicle attitude control.

2.14 The UAV design shall allow the left and right main wing to either freely rotate independently or as a single unit.

2.15 The UAV wing tilting shall not use an actuator system for tilting relative to the fuselage other than movement caused by aerodynamic forces.

2.16 A rotational damper can be included to damp fuselage-to-wing oscillation if friction forces are not sufficient to stop oscillation of the fuselage relative to the wing.

2.17 Thrust-to-weight ratio during hover shall be no less than 1.5 and shall be proved by individual motor propeller thrust testing or full aircraft system bench testing.

2.18 The UAV main wing shall have two (2) or more motor/propeller locations.

2.19 The fuselage and tail (empennage) may or may not include propulsion units

2.20 The propulsion units and aerodynamic surfaces on the fuselage and tail may or may not include active feedback or passive stability features for longitudinal stabilization of the fuselage

2.21 Propeller advance ratio (propeller pitch and rpm) shall be appropriate for forward flight to provide thrust at approximately 40-60% throttle to keep the vehicle above stall speed.

2.22 Flight control shall be done from a standard handheld 2.4 GHz transmitter with an on-board receiver.

2.23 The flight controller shall be able to switch from hover mode to forward flight mode and back.

2.24 The flight control system can include autonomous operation, but shall be able to switch back to stabilized manual flight via transmitter command.

2.25 The flight control system shall be one of the following:

2.25.1 KK2.1.5 flight control board and OpenAeroVTOL code

2.25.2 Arduplane VTOL code

2.25.3 PixHawk “Blue” with PX4 VTOL code

2.25.4 Other flight control methods may be acceptable, but the Contractor shall obtain approval from the technical contact at NASA due to government IT restrictions.

2.26 The flight vehicles shall be tilt tested by hand without propellers to ensure proper aerodynamic surface feedback movement direction and proper RPM feedback response of motors when pitch and roll movements are applied.

2.27 The flight vehicles shall be bench tested by the Contractor (but not flown) with propellers producing hover thrust and forward flight thrust to ensure adequate flight times with Contractor supplied batteries.

2.28 Demonstration of the vehicle at hover condition thrust on an overhead tether attached at the center of gravity shall be performed to demonstrate well-damped pitch and roll behavior. Contact the NASA technical POC on the details of performing this test. Note:

This shall not free flight. It shall be a tethered flight.

2.29 Any drawings or CAD models produced shall be delivered to NASA.

2.30 The conceptual and final designs shall be approved by the NASA technical contact before fabrication.

2.31 NASA will provide the following:

2.31.1 Test location for free flight test.

2.31.2 Flight clearances for the test range.

3. Deliverables

3.1 The Contractor shall conduct a Project kick-off meeting 15 days from date of authorization to proceed.

3.2 The Contractor shall conduct a Preliminary (concept) Design Review 60 days from date of authorization to proceed.

3.3 The Contractor shall provide a complete list of all components compliant with all supply chain acquisition law and to be approved by NASA, 80 days from authorization to proceed.

3.4 The Contractor shall conduct a Critical (Final) Design Review 90 days from date of authorization to proceed.

3.5 The Contractor shall deliver the prototype and any other materials to NASA Langley Research Center not later than 270 days from date of authorization to proceed.

4. Option for Increased Quantity-Separately Priced Line Item

4.1 Option #1: On-site testing - Three (3) days of on-site testing support at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia.

4.2 Option #2: Delivery of a second prototype aircraft per SOW specifications Section 2 above shall be required.

5. Place of Performance

5.1 The UAV shall be designed and built at Contractor’s facility within the United States.

5.2 Contractor shall be responsible for delivery/shipment of the aircraft to NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA 23681.

5.3 Free Flight testing will be performed by NASA at NASA test site(s).

6. Period of Performance Total period of performance shall be 12 months from the Date of Contract Award.

7. NASA Technical Point of Contact To Be Completed Upon Contract Award.