AIAA 2002-4875 Simulation and Flight Control of an Aeroelastic Fixed Wing Micro Aerial Vehicle

Micro aerial vehicles have been the subject of continued interest and development over the last several years. The majority of current vehicle concepts rely on rigid f ixed wings or rotors. An alternate design based on an aeroelastic membrane wing has also been developed that exhibits desired characteristics in f l ight test demonstrations, competition, and in prior aerodynamics studies. This paper presents a simulation model and an assessment of f l ight control characterist ics of the vehicle. Linear state space models of the vehicle associated with typical tr immed level f l ight condit ions and which are suitable for control system design are presented as wel l . The simulation is used as the basis for the design of a measurement based nonlinear dynamic inversion control system and outer loop guidance system. The vehicle/controller system i s the subject of ongoing investigations of autonomous and collaborative control schemes. The results indicate that the design represents a good basis for further development of the micro aerial vehicle for autonomous and collaborative controls research.