A Design Software Suite for Flapping Wing MAVs

The authors have developed an integrated suite of design tools for flapping wing MAVs. The “FlapAV” suite includes new modules for flapping wing time-varying geometry, unsteady aerodynamics, and closed-loop flight controls, as well as mass properties, mission modeling, and multi-disciplinary optimization (MDO) capabilities inherited from the parent OAV code. FlapAV was used to compute trimmed closed-loop power vs. airspeed curves for two representative MAV configurations. Results exhibited the classic “J” shape, with minimum power flight occurring near the wings-fixed stall speeds.