science

S-TEC Sentry

S-TEC Sentry is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand S-TEC Sentry rather than just read about it. In short: The S-TEC Sentry is a reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (or drone), developed in the United States in the 1980s. Built by S-TEC systems of Texas (now part of DRS Unmanned Technologies), it is a battlefield mini-UAV in roughly the same class as the BAI Dragon drone.

Key takeaways

S-TEC Sentry belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect S-TEC Sentry to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of S-TEC Sentry from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The S-TEC Sentry is a reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (or drone), developed in the United States in the 1980s. Built by S-TEC systems of Texas (now part of DRS Unmanned Technologies), it is a battlefield mini-UAV in roughly the same class as the BAI Dragon drone. In fact, the Sentry looks something like an Exdrone with a twin-boom raised tail. It is built of carbon composition and Kevlar, and powered by a 19.5 kW (26 hp) piston engine in a tractor configuration. S-TEC's main business is building autopilots for civil aviation, and small UAVs were a logical extension of that business. S-TEC introduced the Sentry in 1986, and has sold over 130 since that time. Launch is via a wheeled dolly or pneumatic catapult, and recovery via parasail or on skid landing gear. In an interesting experiment, the company has experimented with carriage of the BLU-108 Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW) anti-armor submunition on the Sentry. After release in a target area, the cylindrical SFW pops out a small parachute to orient itself and then fires out four "skeet" projectiles in four directions. The skeets have an infrared sensor to detect when they are flying over the top of an armored vehicle, and then fire a penetrator slug straight down to punch through the top armor. S-TEC has teamed with TRW Corporation in the US and IAI of Israel to sell UAVs on the international market.

Specifications General characteristics

Crew: None Capacity: 60 lb (27 kg) payload Length: 8 ft 0 in (2.24 m) Wingspan: 11 ft 0 in (3.35 m) Empty weight: 130 lb (59 kg) Gross weight: 240 lb (109 kg) Powerplant: 1 × Herbrandson Dyad 290 , 26 hp (20 kW) Performance

Maximum speed: 110 mph (175 km/h, 96 kn) Endurance: 8 hours Service ceiling: 16,000 ft (4,900 m)

References This article contains material that originally came from the web article Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with S-TEC Sentry

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what S-TEC Sentry claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to S-TEC Sentry before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about S-TEC Sentry ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of S-TEC Sentry

In research: S-TEC Sentry appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses S-TEC Sentry in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: S-TEC Sentry is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1980s United States military reconnaissance aircraft, S-TEC aircraft, Twin-boom aircraft, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for S-TEC Sentry outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study S-TEC Sentry in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what S-TEC Sentry means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain S-TEC Sentry out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is S-TEC Sentry in simple terms?

Why does S-TEC Sentry matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study S-TEC Sentry?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on S-TEC Sentry.