Convertible delta-wing aircraft for teaching and research

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents our initiative on the design and building of a convertible aircraft for fault tolerant control. The main advantage of convertible over conventional aircraft is that they can take-off and land vertically, practically eliminating the need for a long runway. At the same time, fixed wings allow to improve energy efficiency with respect to multi-copters. To satisfy these objectives, we have chosen a bi-rotor delta-wing design which is described in the first part of the paper. The paper gives a description of the main educational activities of this project emphasizing its multidisciplinary nature. Indeed, one important aspect of this project is that we have had the chance to work with students from various specialities (such as mechanical engineering, embedded systems, avionics and automatic control) on bachelor and master’s levels. Moreover, the end result of this project should provide us with a very interesting experimental test-bench for teaching and research purposes. Finally, this activity is also the opportunity for our students to develop their soft skills such as project management and communication.