Rapid Design and Deployment of a Stability Augmentation System for a Modular UAS

Current practices in aerospace engineering education, particularly on aircraft stability and control consists of establishing a theoretical background with an emphasis on the equations that are used to design and control aircraft. To supplement the theoretical background, this study lays the groundwork for designing a yaw damper and deploying it onto a UAV to enhance classroom learning with hands-on practical experience. The aircraft is analyzed using Advanced Aircraft Analysis to determine its stability and control derivatives. After a dynamic model of the aircraft has been determined, a yaw damper is designed using transfer function and root locus techniques. The yaw damper is deployed using PX4 Autopilot. Students will be able to design their own yaw damper and deploy it onto the UAV for a flight test. The goal of this study is to help students gain further understanding of how controller design decisions affect the response of the aircraft.