A conformal UHF antenna for cargo helicopter belly

Abstract

Studies on conformal antenna for aerial communication has not been explored. This paper presents a conformal patch antenna which has a peak gain of 6.7dBi. The unit cell resonates at UHF of 480MHz. Parametric studies have been done by conforming the antenna to the belly of the helicopter at different angles to increase aeronautical stability. The planar antenna structure has been fabricated and tested and the measured results agree with the simulated results. A case study of antenna placement on a generic cargo helicopter belly was performed.