QNET VTOL Trainer

The new QNET Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Trainer is an aerospace plant that enables students to learn about basic flight dynamics and control. The front end of the VTOL body is fitted with a rotor actuator that has a thrust of approximately 32 g at 1.5 A. The body is anchored to an encoder shaft from where the pitch position can be measured. On the back end of the body, an adjustable counter-weight enables the user to vary the amount of thrust needed to attain a certain desired position.

The VTOL curriculum includes modeling, system identification, model validation, and control design exercises. A sample of the curriculum is pictured below. The goal is to control the pitch position of the VTOL. To do this, students must first obtain a model. This can be done manually by performing a few experiments and looking at the equation of motion. It can also be obtained using system identification tools such as the LabVIEW System Identification Toolkit. Once validated, the model can be used to design the flight control system. This involves designing a PI current controller for the rotor actuator and an outer PID feedback system to control the position (i.e. cascade controller).



As with other QNETs, the VTOL connects to the NI ELVIS II system (also compatible with ELVIS I) and runs with the LabVIEW software. VIs accompanying the curriculum are supplied with the system. The VTOL Flight Control VI is shown below.

The QNET-014 VTOL Trainer is available for purchase on the NI website.