Pitch and Yaw Control of Tailless Flapping Wing MAVs by Implementing Wing Root Angle Deflection

Study was conducted on the effect of wing root angle deflection to pave the way for the implementation of tailless flight control on a hovering flapping wing platform. Hypotheses of how the wing root deflection in the sagittal direction could help generate pitching and yawing moments are presented and investigated. The investigation was completed using a four bar linkage crank-rocker flapping mechanism. The flapping frequencies are from 13Hz to 18Hz, and the sagittal deflection angle ranged between -6.7o to 7o. Study shows that tailless pitch and yaw control is feasible but the nonlinearities could lead to huge challenge on implementation. The deflection angle also compromises lift.