Analysis of a UAV that can Hover and Fly Level

Middle East Technical University, Department of Electrical and Electronics Department, 06800 Ankara, Turkey

Abstract

In this study, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with level flight, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and mode-changing capability is analysed. The platform design combines both multirotor and fixed-wing (FW) conventional airplane structures and control surfaces; therefore, named as VTOL-FW. The aircraft is modelled using aerodynamical principles and linear models are constructed utilizing small perturbation theory for trim conditions. The proposed method of control includes implementation of multirotor and airplane mode controllers and design of an algorithm to transition between modes in achieving smooth switching manoeuvres between VTOL and FW flight. Thus, VTOL-FW UAV’s flight characteristics are expected to be improved by enlarging operational flight envelope through enabling mode-transitioning, agile manoeuvres and increasing survivability. Experiments conducted in simulation and real world environments show that, VTOL-FW UAV has both multirotor and airplane characteristics with extra benefits in an enlarged flight envelope.