The Hovering Stability of the Egretta Tail-Sitter VTOL UAV

Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capability has extended the application of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) significantly. In this paper, simulation modeling flight test were employed to investigate hovering stability a tail-sitter UAV named Egretta. The model was developed based on simplified rigid body dynamic time-averaged propeller slipstream flow distribution. Meanwhile, testing with PID controllers built tested verify model. It found that Egretta can achieve stable in roll, pitch, yaw directions. demonstrated accuracy predicting responses large perturbations both trend magnitude. Moreover, be analyze UAVs different sizes. will very useful for initial sizing optimization investigation.