Experimental investigation of the effects of morphing wing applications on unmanned aircraft performance

Morphing wings are as old a topic as aviation itself. Although it brings to mind the idea that it is a technology that has started to be studied recently, the Wright brothers' plane actually performed roll maneuvers thanks to its morphing wing. This technology was used especially during the Cold War era, research was carried out on it, and later on, due to some prejudices, its integration into aircraft on the manned aviation side could not be completed. The technological development of electromechanical units and the boom of unmanned aerial vehicles have created a second spring in the search for morphing wings. In this thesis, examples of the use of morphing wings and the existing literature were examined. A process flow has been presented in which the deficiencies identified in the literature are addressed. In this process flow, an original and innovative UAV, the Vatoz (Stingray), was designed within the scope of the study. A fishbone-articulated morphing wing design was realized for the Stingray UAV. A unique articulation method has been developed and a patent application has been made. The designed morphing wing was directly compared with the conventional wing by performing analyses, production, wind tunnel tests and flight tests. The results were evaluated on the axis of prejudices such as weight, cost and complexity.