Performance and stability of an agile tail-less MAV with flexible articulated wings

This paper considers the problems of (a) modelling the flight mechanics of a tail-less MAV equipped with flexible articulated wings, and (b) the analysis of its turning performance. The wings are assumed to have two degrees of freedom heave and twist. They are assumed to be actuated from the root, which is the abstraction of an experimental control mechanism being developed by the authors. The dihedral and twist angles at the wing root are controlled. A novel actuator concept of axial tension to control wing stiffness has been explored in this paper. It is shown that axial tension in the wing has a significant effect on the turning performance of the aircraft, although the effect is not uniformly beneficial in nature. The effect of flexibility on the steady state turning performance of the aircraft has been demonstrated by comparing it with that of a rigid aircraft, and with that of a similar aircraft possessing a wing with different elastic properties.