A Lifting Wing Fixed on Multirotor UAVs for Long Flight Ranges

TL;DR

This paper introduces a multirotor UAV with a fixed lifting wing that significantly extends flight range by reducing energy consumption through combined lift from rotors and the wing, verified by experimental results.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel multirotor UAV design with a fixed lifting wing that enhances flight range and reduces power consumption, supported by a comprehensive dynamic model and experimental validation.

Findings

Lifting wing saves 50.14% power at cruise speed

Design effectively combines multirotor and fixed-wing aerodynamics

Experimental results confirm improved energy efficiency

Abstract

This paper presents a lifting-wing multirotor UAV that allows long-range flight. The UAV features a lifting wing in a special mounting angle that works together with rotors to supply lift when it flies forward, achieving a reduction in energy consumption and improvement of flight range compared to traditional multirotor UAVs. Its dynamic model is built according to the classical multirotor theory and the fixed-wing theory, as the aerodynamics of its multiple propellers and that of its lifting wing are almost decoupled. Its design takes into consideration aerodynamics, airframe configuration and the mounting angle. The performance of the UAV is verified by experiments, which show that the lifting wing saves 50.14% of the power when the UAV flies at the cruise speed (15m/s).