Performing Pugachev's Cobra Maneuver with a Quadcopter
Faculty Mentor Name
Ken Bordignon, Stacey McIntire
Format Preference
Poster
Abstract
The goal of this project is to demonstrate Pugachev’s cobra maneuver using a quadcopter. Pugachev’s cobra maneuver is traditionally performed by fixed-wing fighter jets. To perform the maneuver, the aircraft initiates an aggressive pitch-up maneuver followed by a return to normal flight. This results in rapid deceleration which can allow the aircraft to get behind a pursuing aircraft and gain the upper hand in a dogfight. With the rapid adoption of quadcopters in military applications, knowledge of the cobra maneuver’s feasibility and dynamics when applied to quadcopters may prove useful. The first step of this project was the creation of a Simulink simulation to gain a better understanding of the dynamics involved when performing the cobra maneuver with a quadcopter. A simulation and animation were created last semester, demonstrating that the maneuver is possible in theory. A simplified drone model was used for the simulation, and a control law created to perform the maneuver. The next step is to perform the maneuver with a real quadcopter. Telemetry data will be obtained from the quadcopter to provide quantitative data for the maneuver. This data will be compared to the Simulink simulation to gauge the accuracy of the simulation.
Performing Pugachev's Cobra Maneuver with a Quadcopter
The goal of this project is to demonstrate Pugachev’s cobra maneuver using a quadcopter. Pugachev’s cobra maneuver is traditionally performed by fixed-wing fighter jets. To perform the maneuver, the aircraft initiates an aggressive pitch-up maneuver followed by a return to normal flight. This results in rapid deceleration which can allow the aircraft to get behind a pursuing aircraft and gain the upper hand in a dogfight. With the rapid adoption of quadcopters in military applications, knowledge of the cobra maneuver’s feasibility and dynamics when applied to quadcopters may prove useful. The first step of this project was the creation of a Simulink simulation to gain a better understanding of the dynamics involved when performing the cobra maneuver with a quadcopter. A simulation and animation were created last semester, demonstrating that the maneuver is possible in theory. A simplified drone model was used for the simulation, and a control law created to perform the maneuver. The next step is to perform the maneuver with a real quadcopter. Telemetry data will be obtained from the quadcopter to provide quantitative data for the maneuver. This data will be compared to the Simulink simulation to gauge the accuracy of the simulation.