Design and Flight Simulation Verification of the Dragonfly eVTOL Aircraft

Abstract

Recently, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft have become a top priority for urban air transportation due to their ability to overcome urban ground traffic congestion. In this research, a new type of scaled lift–cruise ‘Dragonfly’ has been designed. The ‘Dragonfly’ combines the characteristics of an octocopter and a fixed-wing aircraft. Compared with the same type of eVTOL aircraft, it has a longer wingspan and a more stable aircraft structure, it can not only take off and land vertically without the need for a runway, but also fly quickly in a straight line and hover in mid-air. In order to ensure the success of the flight test, it was also simulated in this paper. A simulation scenario highly fitting with the flight test environment of eVTOL is designed in the Gazebo simulation platform, and then combined with the PX4 flight control platform, the system SITL of the constructed aircraft simulation model is carried out on the Gazebo platform, Finally, simulation flight test data for accurate analysis are obtained, the accuracy and stability of the control algorithm are fed back, and scientific support for the follow-up ‘Dragonfly’ aircraft hardware-in-the-loop simulation and physical flight test is provided.