The channel wing is a lift-enhancement concept pioneered by Willard Ray Custer in the late 1940s in an effort to provide a fixed-wing aircraft with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. This paper experimentally investigates the possibility of using Custer channel wings for slow flight and STOL of small (under 35 kg) fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles. The Custer unmanned aircraft developed at the University of Southampton is introduced in this paper, including details of the installed channel wings and other systems necessary for slow-flight operation. Results from wind-tunnel tests are presented, showing a significant lift increase due to the channel wings in the range of airspeeds of interest. Flight tests are carried out to demonstrate the slow flight and STOL capabilities of the aircraft, showing superior stall characteristics and a two-thirds reduction of the runway length required when using the channel wings. Flight-test comparisons to a conventional wing–propeller configuration show superior slow-flight performance and 7–9% lower cruise speed of the channel-wing aircraft.

通道翼是威拉德·雷·卡斯特 (Willard Ray Custer) 在 1940 年代后期首创的升力增强概念，旨在为固定翼飞机提供短距起降 (STOL) 能力。本文通过实验研究了使用卡斯特通道机翼进行小型（35公斤以下）固定翼无人机慢速飞行和STOL的可能性。本文介绍了南安普敦大学开发的卡斯特无人机，包括安装的通道翼和其他慢速飞行所需的系统的细节。展示了风洞测试的结果，表明在感兴趣的空速范围内，由于通道机翼，升力显着增加。进行飞行测试以证明飞机的慢速飞行和STOL能力，显示出卓越的失速特性，并且使用通道机翼时所需的跑道长度减少了三分之二。与传统机翼螺旋桨配置的飞行测试比较显示，通道机翼飞机具有卓越的慢速飞行性能和 7-9% 的巡航速度。