Date of Submission

Spring 5-6-2026

Project Type

Senior Design

Minor

Aerospace Engineering

Major

Mechanical Engineering

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSME)

Department

Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology

Committee Chair/First Advisor

Dr. Khalid

Secondary Advisor

Dr. Gaurav Sharma

Abstract

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Abstract

This paper presents the conceptual and preliminary design of a sub-500g hybrid vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with an active gust load alleviation (GLA) system. The aircraft combines passive twist wingtip (PTWT) devices with an inertial measurement unit (IMU)-based adaptive feedforward control architecture to reduce peak wing-root bending moments by 30–40% relative to an unmitigated baseline configuration.

The propulsion system employs a twin tilt-rotor plus rear pusher arrangement within an 80g mass budget, enabling clean sensor inflow while supporting both hover and efficient cruise flight at 12–13 m/s. Electronic speed control is managed by a Hobbywing XRotor Nano 20A 4-in-1 ESC for the tilt rotors and a dedicated T-Motor F35A unit for the pusher motor. The avionics stack centers on a Matek H743-WLITE flight controller operating at 400 Hz, supplemented by strain gauge-based structural load monitoring sampled at 200 Hz through a 24-bit ADC.

The hybrid passive-active GLA architecture was selected through a weighted decision matrix evaluating four candidate designs. Passive wingtips contribute an estimated 20–25% peak load reduction through aeroelastic twist response, while the active feedforward layer adds an additional 10–15% through high-rate surface deflection commands. End-to-end system latency is analytically budgeted at 13–17 ms, well within the 40 ms threshold required for effective rejection of atmospheric turbulence in the 2–6 Hz frequency band. The airframe structure uses an EPP foam core with selective carbon fiber reinforcement, targeting a 3.5g limit load factor with a 1.5x ultimate safety margin.

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