Aerobatic Trajectory Generation for a VTOL Fixed-Wing Aircraft Using Differential Flatness

This article proposes a novel algorithm for aerobatic trajectory generation for a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) tailsitter flying wing aircraft. The algorithm differs from existing approaches for fixed-wing trajectory generation, as it considers a realistic six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) flight dynamics model, including aerodynamic equations. Using a global dynamics model enables the generation of aerobatics trajectories that exploit the entire flight envelope, allowing agile maneuvering through the stall regime, sideways uncoordinated flight, inverted flight, etc. The method uses the differential flatness property of the global tailsitter flying wing dynamics, which is derived in this work. By performing snap minimization in the differentially flat output space, a computationally efficient algorithm, suitable for online motion planning, is obtained. The algorithm is demonstrated in extensive flight experiments encompassing six aerobatic maneuvers, a time-optimal drone racing trajectory, and an airshowlike aerobatic sequence for three tailsitter aircraft.