Insect Sized Flapping Wing Vehicles Versus Rotorcrafts, a Comparative Study

Abstract

Flapping wing vehicles have in recent years been of considerable interest to the microair-vehicle research eld. Their advantage over rotorcraft vehicles is frequently taken for granted by referencing the highly robust and maneuverable apping wing animals and insects in nature. However, there are no rotorcraft examples in nature which provide the same or similar capabilities as apping wing animals or insects. Bird size helicopters have been shown to be very capable ying machines. The question whether comparably sized apping wing vehicles have an intrinsic advantage over smaller rotorcrafts (insect or small bird sized) is an open one. Evidence has been presented which indicate that there are material reasons for apping wing vehicles being a superior development platform over rotorcraft but limited comparative research has been done to compare the two from an aerodynamic perspective. The simpli ed aerodynamic properties of insect sized apping wing micro-air-vehicles are compared to that of similarly sized rotorcrafts using simulation models. This work is a rudimentary step towards answering this question and helping advance the discussion about the pros and cons of micro-air-vehicle apping wing vehicles versus rotorcrafts.