Flight Dynamics Analytically-Derived Mathematical Model of Tiltrotor Aircraft: The development of an approachable tilt-rotor flight mechanics model, with clearly defined limitations, suitable for performance and piloted flight simulation

State-of-the-art tilt-rotor flight mechanics models appear to be inadequate in predicting the flight dynamics behavior across the entire flight envelope due to a lack of experimental data suggesting the need for more generic models. This paper presents a middle ground between model flexibility (genericity) and accuracy. For this purpose a...

Attitude Control of a Tilt-rotor Tailsitter Micro Air Vehicle Using Incremental Control

By combining the ability to hover with a wing for fast and efficient horizontal flight, hybrid unmanned aircraft extend the flight envelope and therefore mission capabilities of unmanned aircraft. However, this comes at a cost: increased complexity control-wise and being more susceptible to wind disturbances. This susceptibility to wind gusts is...

Dual-axis tilting rotor quad-plane design, simulation, flight and performance comparison with a conventional quad-plane design

In the last few decades, the UAV research has been focusing on hybrid vehicles with Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) capabilities. Opposed to copters, hybrid vehicles are highly influenced by wind disturbances. This paper presents a novel quad-plane design that uses four dual-axis tilting rotors to enhance the wind rejection capability of...

Motion equations and attitude control in the vertical flight of a VTOL bi-rotor UAV

This paper gathers the design and implementation of the control system that allows an unmanned Flying-wing to perform a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) maneuver using two tilting rotors (Bi-Rotor). Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) operating in this configuration are also categorized as Hybrid UAVs due to their ability of having a dual...

Modelling and Optimization of Tilt-Rotor Aircraft Flight Trajectories

Tilt-rotor aircraft combine the helicopter’s benefit of VTOL capability and the flight performance that turboprops possess on range, speed and endurance. Tilt-rotor aircraft have the potential to decrease airport congestion and average flight delay in passenger transportation, while benefits are numerous in i.e. search and rescue, disaster...