Glidding system for a fixed wing aircraft using PID control algorithm

Abstract

In every Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) task, the power supply used is limited. UAVs are often forced to land when the battery runs out before the mission is completed. The gliding controller is proposed in this paper so that Fixed Wing Aircraft (FWA) can fly with minimal power and can adjust direction, altitude, zero pitch and zero roll stability. The FWA uses a Barometric Pressure Measure (BMP) 180 sensor at the tip of the wing to detect the difference in pressure experienced by both wings, therefore, the direction of the wind can be determined. The information of the wind direction was then used to maintain the desired altitude of the FWA. The Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) control algorithm was implemented to stabilize the FWA altitude to keep cruising or flying in a flat position. Real-time experiments using FWA have been conducted. It can be observed that the FWA was able to air with automatic glider mode for almost 2 minutes. Tests carried out include altitude data, roll and pitch movement from BMP180 sensor readings, the glidding performance has been observed with respect to the altitude, roll and pitch errors. It was measured that the altitude, the roll and the pitch errors were 1.74%, 0.23% and 0.34%, respectively.