Further flight testing of the 12 in MAV indicated a problem with the thread

connection. The morphing of the 10 in MAV used only a single thread attached to the

outboard of the trailing edge and this style was used for the 12 in MAV. Unfortunately

the battens on the larger MAV were spaced farther apart than on the smaller MAV

so the wing was weaker. The leading edge on the 12 in MAV would now remain

properly shaped but the trailing edge would collapse when loaded. This problem was

addressed by attaching a second thread to the trailing edge of the wing and allowing

the morphing actuation to provide strength to support the loads.

 The 12 in MAV is designed to allow for a more complicated type of morphing

than is used for the 24 in MAV. The wings of this smaller vehicle are constructed from

latex sheeting whereas the wings of the larger vehicle are made of mylar sheeting.

Consequently, the wings of the 12 in vehicle are considerably more flexible, and thus

easier to morph, than the wings of the 24 in vehicle. This flexibility allows simple

mechanisms to again be appropriate for generating morphing and allow control issues

to be investigated.

 The high flexibility of the wings for this MAV allow consideration of morphing

beyond basic warping. More specifically, this vehicle is used to consider morphing

that affects the twist and span of the wings. A torque rod, as used for the 24 in MAV,

would clearly not be appropriate for such a morphing. Instead, the rod was replaced

with threads.

 The morphing strategy for this MAV is shown in Figure 6-3. Kevlar threads

are strung between a servo in the fuselage and points near the outboard of the wings.

These threads are incredibly strong and the minor stress received during flight is not

sufficient to cause any stretching.

 The morphing achieved by this strategy is directly dependent upon the attachment

points of the threads. The attachment of the threads to the fuselage is near the leading

edge of the wings. The corresponding attachment to the wings is actually at separate