Dynamic Modeling and Analysis of Tilt-Wing Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing Vehicles

Abstract

Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft enable new transport options in regional and urban air mobility. One promising but only little investigated and understood subcategory comprises tilt-wing eVTOLs. They offer high efficiency and long flight ranges but come with a trade-off in increased complexity. Consequently, a critical step towards market entry is the development of mature and safe hybrid pilot-autonomy control systems, including fault detection, identification, and recovery (FDIR) concepts. That requires a mid-fidelity dynamic model with sufficient accuracy, which is not yet available despite a long history of tilt-wing research. Without a representative model, no detailed analysis and identification of a trimmed transition trajectory could be performed. This, however, is a crucial step in the development of a control system. We approach the problem by applying and combining current modeling approaches. Furthermore, a trim analysis of different flight phases, including the transition, is conducted. The identified model lays the foundation for a representative and detailed development and investigation of future control designs, bringing tilt-wing eVTOLs closer to airworthiness.