Take-off control and characteristics of FanWing

Abstract

Purpose

As a short take-off and landing aircraft, FanWing has the capability of being driven under power a short distance from a parking space to the take-off area. The purpose of this paper is to design the take-off control system of FanWing and study the factors that influence the short take-off performance under control.

Design/methodology/approach

The force analysis of FanWing is studied in the take-off phase. Two take-off control methods are researched, and several factors that influence the short take-off performance are studied under control.

Findings

The elevator and fan wing control systems are designed. Although the vehicle load increases under the fan wing control, the fan wing control is not a recommended practice in the take-off phase for its sensitivity to the pitch angle command. The additional pitch-down moment has a significant influence on the control system and the short take-off performance that the barycenter variation of FanWing should be considered carefully.

Practical implications

The presented efforts provide a reference for the location of the center of gravity in designing FanWing. The traditional elevator control is more recommended than the fan wing control in the take-off phase.

Originality/value

This paper offers a valuable reference on the control system design of FanWing. It also proves that there is an additional pith-down moment that needs to be paid close attention to. Four factors that influence the short take-off performance are compared under control.

Citation

Meng, L., Gao, Y., Liu, Y. and Lu, S. (2022), "Take-off control and characteristics of FanWing", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 94 No. 5, pp. 705-714. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-06-2021-0182