Development of Small Fixed-wing UAV Capable of Automatic Vertical Take-off and Horizontal Transition Using Regular Control Surfaces

Abstract

Fixed wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) aircrafts capable of Automatic Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) have emerged as a promising solution to the limitations of both conventional fixed-wing and multirotor aircraft. This study presents the design, modelling, and implementation of a radio-controlled fixed-wing UAV which utilize same control surfaces as regular fixed wing aircrafts for vertical take-off and horizontal transition within three seconds under automatic control. Aerodynamic properties were analysed through 3D CAD models and XFLR5 software, and a state-space model was developed for simulations and control law derivation. A custom flight mode was developed to the ArduPlane firmware to enable automatic vertical to horizontal transition and a commercial flight controller board based on 32-bit ARM CPU was used to implement the system. The designed UAV demonstrates improved adaptability and performance for constrained operational environments, making it suitable for surveillance, mapping, environment monitoring and military applications. Experimental results confirm the feasibility of stable vertical take-off and smooth transition using the proposed control strategy.