A simple landing gear simulation model for unmanned aerial vehicles

Abstract

The paper presents and evaluates the simple simulation of the landing gear used in small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The main goal was to set up software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation environments that can be used in testing flight control and flight estimation algorithms from take-off to landing. Small UAVs without gear braking were considered in the study, the stopping of aircraft was due solely to frictional forces. The model developed can be used in simulations to describe aircraft motion from standstill on the ground through take-off to landing and stoppage. The parameters were tuned experimentally for each small UAV type. Finally, SIL simulation results are presented and evaluated in the paper.