Development of a Quad-rotor Fixed-wing Hybrid Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a quad-rotor 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 fixed-wing UAVs have been put together, while eliminating the disadvantages of both of these UAV types. The proposed hybrid drone has shown exciting performance in taking-off, 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.