32 directly to the fuselage and sits at a 0o angle from it; the dihedral, which inclines upwards from the main wing; and the ogive, which extends briefly from the dihedral with a downward curve. Although some subsystems can be moved around in the wings as needed, the satcom antennas are always installed in each wingtip, as far from each other as possible to prevent crosstalk. All the other systems must be spread out for an even distribution of weight and for the centres of gravity and balance. Flight-critical systems such as the flight controller and its related avionics, FPV cameras and air data probes, as well as its angle-of-attack and sideslip vanes are typically mounted in the wing sections closest to the fuselage. In the outer half of the main wing, there are the propulsor pods, one on either wing, comprising a propeller, an electric motor and an ESC, as well as three ‘large’ battery packs – hence six of them per Z8 – with up to three more pairs of ‘small’ battery packs typically sitting further out (AALTO declines to disclose the total onboard energy storage). The ogive and wingtip sections host additional payload bays, along with cameras mounted conformally with the aerodynamic profile of the wings, and pointed back down the wings for remote operators to visually assess the condition of the aircraft during flight. Navigation lights and antennas are also mounted in these outer wing sections. Tyler notes here that the payloads do not have to interface with or be operated by the flight controller. If for instance a potential customer is sensitive about their technical IP, data security or ownership, they can independently monitor and control the payload themselves, with the Zephyr serving solely as the platform and power source. Regarding the fuselage, the rear half of its carbon tube mounts the GNSS antenna and an S-band antenna. Additional antennas for a UHF data link and a transponder system are installed nearby in the wing sections. Phil Briggs, chief engineer for AALTO, adds, “We tend to position most of our subsystems in the leading edge of the wing. That helps a lot with keeping our CoG in the best position, as does spreading the weight across the wingspan, which also minimises any concentrated load point on the structure. “The Z8’s total part count is somewhere in the very low thousands, which for an aircraft of this size indicates our focus on simplicity throughout its engineering.” December/January 2024 | Uncrewed Systems Technology The Z8’s construction begins with a carbon composite airframe assembly, followed by avionics integration and then the installation of the clear Mylar outer coverings Silver foil is also installed inside the wings for thermal insulation against the extremes of the cold of night and the heat of day
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