Flight test of flying qualities for helicopter mode of smart UAV

Flight test results of flying qualities for Helicopter mode of Smart UAV are described. Flight test items in helicopter mode include manual and automatic stick control as well as hold and navigation flight including automatic take off and landing. One of the main purposes of helicopter mode flight test is to evaluate the handling qualities in low speed region where nacelle angles are greater than 80 deg. Rotor speed was controlled by the rotor governor without electric engine control after engine start. Position holding GPS stick mode and pitch/roll attitude SCAS (Stability and Control Augmentation System) showed good handling qualities performance during helicopter flight test. These control laws are also the basis both of conversion mode and airplane mode. All flight test described in this paper were controlled by external pilot (EP) using augmented GPS stick mode which comprise of 3 axis speed command and yaw rate command as well as position/heading hold at a neutral stick position. This paper presents the flight test result of flying qualities for helicopter mode of Smart UAV.