• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.56-64
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• 2017

A high altitude long endurance aircraft which carries out missions of environmental research communication relay or ground surveillance, should have the capacity to cruise in the stratosphere at a relatively low speed for a long dwell time without the necessity of refueling. When one considers the propulsion system for such an aircraft, a reciprocating engine with a serial turbo-charger system to boost rarefied ambient air up to sea level condition, would represent an good, informed and practical choice regardless of the cruising altitude of the aircraft. In this paper, high altitude long endurance aircraft developed by overseas research groups and research trends, regarding multi-stage turbocharger systems, are introduced.