The T-wing tail-sitter unmanned air vehicle: From design concept to research flight vehicle

Abstract This paper considers the key aspects of the development of the T-Wing tail-sitter unmanned air vehicle (UAV), starting from a novel concept through to the current flight test vehicle. The T-Wing is a twin-engine UAV that relies on propeller wash over its elevons and rudders for control during low-speed vertical flight but performs the majority of its mission in wing-borne horizontal flight. The foundation for the successful development of the T-Wing to date is the integrated aerodynamic and propulsion analysis of the wing-propeller interaction. This is critical for the vehicle' vertical flight controllability and feeds directly into other key areas of the overall development process, including the use of multi-disciplinary optimization for preliminary vehicle design and the development of an extensive six-degree-of-freedom non-linear simulation of the vehicle to aid in control system design. This paper also presents some of the testing that has been used to support the analysis. This has allowed the T-Wing to progress from a paper concept to a flying research UAV.