A Fixed-Wing Micro Air Vehicle with Hovering Capability

The present project is the sequel of a transatlantic collaborative research project started in 2007 with the University of Arizona and the group of Dr. Sergey Shkarayev. The previous research grant was devoted to the comparative study of tilt-rotor and tilt-body configurations for Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAV). The purpose of the present study is to investigate the potential benefit of combining a fixed-wing airframe with tandem counter-rotating rotors in order to perform both fast horizontal flight phases and hovering or vertical flight phases, without resorting to a hollow shaft system as in the case of a coaxial rotor in tractor position (Fig. 1). Also, a tandem-rotor configuration has the advantage of providing an extra degree of freedom to control the vehicle along the yaw axis. From an aerodynamic perspective, it also allow for a larger wing area within the propeller slipstream, yielding a higher aerodynamic flap efficiency and a better aerodynamic performance due to a higher aspect ratio. 1 Professor of Aerodynamics, Department of Aerodynamics, Energetics and Propulsion, ISAE, BP 54032 31055 Toulouse CEDEX 4, France, [email protected] Figure 1. The MAVion, a tandem-rotor tilt-body configuration as presented at IMAV’09 termediate report – research grant FA8655-07-M-4010