Total Energy Flight Speed and Altitude Control for a Small UAV: Simulation and Flight Experiment

Comparative results of a real flight experiment and a flight simulation of a small UAV are presented. A longitudinal motion control system is developed using a total energy approach. The outputs of the total energy controller are converted into control signals for deflecting the aircraft's rudders in pitch and roll, as well as into an engine thrust command. The model of the aircraft's motion is obtained in the form of tabular dependencies of the dimensionless coefficients of forces and moments on the angles of attack, slip, and elevon deflection angles. The total energy control method was tested for a small flying wing-type aircraft. The aircraft is made on the basis of the ArWing Classic radio-controlled aircraft kit. During the simulation process, two modes were used on the stand: capturing and maintaining altitude and capturing the angle of inclination of the trajectory; in the flight experiment, the capturing and maintaining altitude mode was used. The structure of the control system, the results of modeling and a real flight experiment are presented.