Development of a quad-rotor fixed-wing hybrid unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a quadrotor fixed-wing hybrid unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). By combining the flying qualities of quadrotor UAV and that of fixed-wing UAVs it is possible to achieve superior flying qualities. This way, the vertical take-off and landing capability of quadrotors and the long endurance of fixedwing UAVs have been put together, while eliminating the disadvantages of both of these UAV types. The proposed hybrid drone has shown exciting performance in takingoff, cruising and landing fully autonomously. Control transition from quadrotor to fixed-wing and backwards have been analyzed. Sky Scout fixed-wing drone has been used to build the hybrid UAV, and the performance has been successfully demonstrated through flight tests. This paper precent the complete design of a quadrotor fixed-wing hybrid aerial vehicle with modelling, simulation and experimental verification.