This paper describes the systematic design and development of a hover-capable cyclo-copter/cyclogyro, which is a 100 year old VTOL concept that was very popular during the early 20th century. The cyclocopter is an aircraft which utilizes cycloidal-rotors (cyclorotors), a revolutionary horizontal axis propulsion concept that appears to be aerodynamically more efficient than a conventional rotor. Another key advantage of the cyclorotor is its thrust vectoring capability, which is utilized in the present study for attitude control. The present vehicle has a twin-cyclorotor and a horizontal tail rotor configuration where each of the rotors is powered using independent motors. A novel attitude control technique is developed using differential rpm control and thrust vectoring of the cyclorotors for rolling and yawing, and horizontal tail rotor for pitch control. Using this control strategy, for the first time in the history, the stable flight of a cyclocopter was demonstrated.
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