AGH Drone Engineering builds jet airframe

The project entails the creation of an unmanned jet aircraft with the use of turbojet model engines. The young engineers of AGH Drone Engineering aim for Salamandra to carry light loads over long distances at speeds that are unattainable for electric motors.

The project will put emphasis on practice as the students will work on various types of technology, design a control system, and prepare the aircraft for flight. In addition to fitting the airframe with an original propulsion solution, the engineers will have to face another challenge: building an aircraft with its own control system all by themselves.

Currently, the students are mostly occupied with the design and validation of the structure. Based on the initial specifications, they choose the geometric dimensions of the airframe and plan the propulsion system, as well as the layout of the avionics and electronic components within the aircraft. As it will be a liquid fuel engine, the aircraft’s centre of mass will shift with fuel movements, which is why the layout or configuration must not disturb the centre of gravity. Apart from that, the distribution of all electronic control system components, or servomechanisms, must be well thought out. The power supply and the connection of the entire system to the control and communication systems are another steps on the club’s complex to-do list.

Our students have actively cooperated with engineers from the Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering at the Warsaw University of Technology, consulting them on parameters among other technical issues.

The project team includes 20 members of AGH Drone Engineering, which is based at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics. Their supervisor is Dr Tymoteusz Turlej.

The remote-controlled unmanned aircraft will be able to transport small loads at high speed. According to its constructors, it may be used in humanitarian aid, assessing vulnerable areas. It could also be deployed in areas contaminated by biological or radioactive materials, in places where people simply cannot go, helping to cover a large area of land.

In the upcoming time, the drone engineers will face various technical challenges and have a number of issues to consider, such as the shape of the fuselage, its construction method, as well as the selection of the right parameters for engine efficiency. The minds behind the project say that a model for developing and testing manufacturing techniques should be ready as soon as the new academic year starts, in October 2026.