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A long endurance high efficiency Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is being developed by a group of researchers and students in the Mechanical Engineering Technology program at Algonquin College, Ottawa, ON, Canada. The design is based on a tailless, staggered tandem wing configuration, with a carbon fiber frame and electric propulsion. The developed aircraft has a maximum weight of 12.5 kg, well within the 25 kg limit outlined by Transport Canada for permission-free operation. The UAV was designed to fly missions exceeding 24 hours, performing surveillance and oil pipeline monitoring and inspection, either autonomously or under radio control from a ground station, with medium to high payload capacity. This paper describes the process of designing, manufacturing and testing the developed configuration. The operational requirements are delineated as conceptualized by the development team.