Modeling of Ornithopter Flight Dynamics for State Estimation and Control

Interest in flapping-wing aircraft is mounting as the demand for miniature unmanned aircraft proliferates into several sectors of society. Simple and accurate flight dynamics models are needed to develop control algorithms to autonomously perform the challenging missions envisioned for these vehicles. This work presents a complete nonlinear multibody model of the ornithopter flight dynamics, guided by flight tests and system identification results, and cast into a canonical form for nonlinear control. Simulations of trimmed flight and pitch rate damping are presented, showing promise for more advanced control algorithms.