Flight Test Measurement of Quadrotor Performance at Varying Sideslip Angles

This research investigated the effects of the aerodynamic interaction of the rotor-rotor and the rotor-body as the vehicle transitions between the plus (+) and cross configurations (x), through flight testing. A highly-instrumented vehicle was used to measure the change in rotor performance across skew angles ranging from -45-degree to 45-degree for various vehicle speeds. In addition, the work also addresses the uncertainty associated with external sources such as wind, which has a first-order importance to the trim attitude, and hence the thrust and moments generated by the rotors. The flight-test data demonstrates the variation in performance owing to interactions between the rotors and body structure for a range of vehicle flight speeds and skew angles.