阅读说明：本技术 系留式飞行器、包括该系留式飞行器的飞行系统及其控制方法 (Tethered aircraft, flight system comprising same and control method thereof ) 是由 戚耀文 于 2020-07-10 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及无人机领域。具体地,本发明涉及一种系留式飞行器(10),其包括机身(11)、设于所述机身(11)中的至少一个起降涵道(12)、位于所述起降涵道(12)中的升力旋翼(14)、设于所述机身(11)中的至少一个推力涵道(13)、以及位于所述推力涵道(13)中的推力旋翼(15),其中,所述机身(11)具有整体流线型的几何设计,以使得所述机身(11)的左侧部分形成左固定翼(18)且所述机身(11)的右侧部分形成右固定翼(19)。本发明还涉及一种包括这种飞行器的飞行系统和用于这种飞行系统的控制方法。本发明的飞行器实现了：在车辆处于高速行驶状态下时仍能实现起飞、回收和稳定跟飞并具有良好的续航能力。(The invention relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicles. In particular, the invention relates to a tethered aircraft (10) comprising a fuselage (11), at least one takeoff and landing duct (12) arranged in said fuselage (11), a lifting rotor (14) located in said takeoff and landing duct (12), at least one thrust duct (13) arranged in said fuselage (11), and a thrust rotor (15) located in said thrust duct (13), wherein said fuselage (11) has an overall streamlined geometric design such that a left portion of said fuselage (11) forms a left fixed wing (18) and a right portion of said fuselage (11) forms a right fixed wing (19). The invention also relates to a flight system comprising such an aircraft and to a control method for such a flight system. The aircraft of the invention achieves: the aircraft can still realize take-off, recovery and stable follow-up flight when the vehicle is in a high-speed running state, and has good cruising ability.)

1. A captive aircraft (10) comprises a fuselage (11), at least one take-off and landing duct (12) arranged in the fuselage (11), a lift rotor (14) located in the take-off and landing duct (12), at least one thrust duct (13) arranged in the fuselage (11), and a thrust rotor (15) located in the thrust duct (13), wherein the fuselage (11) has an overall streamlined geometric design such that a left portion of the fuselage (11) forms a left fixed wing (18) and a right portion of the fuselage (11) forms a right fixed wing (19).

2. The tethered aircraft (10) of claim 1,

the aircraft (10) is configured to be capable of cutting an air flow field by means of the moving speed of the mooring platform (60) to be acted on by the air flow field to generate an uplift force in a state of being moored to the movable mooring platform (60), so that the aircraft (10) is dragged to take off or drag-taxied by the mooring platform (60).

3. The tethered aircraft (10) of claim 2,

the aircraft (10) comprises at least one generator operatively connected to at least one lifting rotor (14) and/or at least one thrust rotor (15), and the aircraft (10) is configured such that during towing take-off or towing taxiing by the mooring platform the at least one lifting rotor (14) and/or the at least one thrust rotor (15) are actuated by an air flow field to bring the generator to regenerative power generation.

4. The tethered aircraft (10) of any one of the preceding claims,

the aircraft (10) comprises at least one electric motor for driving a lift rotor (14) and a thrust rotor (15), the takeoff and landing duct (12) and the lift rotor (14) being configured to provide vertical lift to the aircraft (10) under the drive of the electric motor, the thrust duct (13) and the thrust rotor (15) being configured to provide forward or reverse thrust to the aircraft (10) under the drive of the electric motor, the electric motor being able in particular to run in reverse to act as a generator.

5. The tethered aircraft (10) of any one of the preceding claims,

the aircraft (10) is configured overall in the form of a dovetail dart; and/or

The lifting duct (12) is formed by a vertical passage through the fuselage (11), in particular at the centre of gravity of the aircraft (10); and/or

The thrust duct (13) is arranged at the tail of the fuselage (11), in particular symmetrically about a central longitudinal axis (L) of the fuselage (11) at the tail of the left and right fixed wings (18, 19); and/or

The lift rotor (14) is formed by at least one group of coaxial counter-rotating rotors.

6. The tethered aircraft (10) of any one of the preceding claims,

the aircraft (10) further comprises a horizontal tail (16) with elevators at the trailing edges of the left and right fixed wings (18, 19), in particular the horizontal tail (16) is arranged further from the central longitudinal axis (L) of the fuselage (11) than the same-side lifting duct (12); and/or

The aircraft (10) also comprises a vertical tail (17) with a rudder (171) at the inner edges of the left and right fixed wings (18, 19) facing each other.

7. The tethered aircraft (10) of any one of the preceding claims,

the body (11) carries an image pick-up device (20) for taking pictures or videos of an object from high altitude; and/or

The aircraft (10) further comprises an optional space (30) located on the fuselage (11), the optional space (30) being adapted to receive different optional equipment to effect different retrofitting, the optional equipment for example comprising lighting means for high altitude lighting of a mooring platform (60).

8. A flight system (100) comprising an aircraft (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, a movable mooring platform (60) and a tethering arrangement (50) for connecting the aircraft (10) to the mooring platform.

9. The flying system (100) of claim 8,

the lanyard device (50) being releasably connected to the aircraft (10) by means of an automatic latching device, in particular to the aircraft (10) at the centre of gravity of the aircraft (10); the mooring line arrangement (50) is connected to the mooring platform (60), for example a vehicle, by means of a winch (70).

10. A method for controlling a flight system (100) according to claim 8 or 9, the method comprising at least the following steps:

-acquiring current kinematic data of the mobile tethered platform (60) in real time;

-calculating an optimized kinematic state and/or change in flight attitude of the aircraft (10) for the current kinematic state of the tethered platform (60) based on the current kinematic data of the tethered platform (60);

-determining control data for maneuvering the aircraft (10) based on the calculated changes of the optimized kinematics and/or attitude of the aircraft (10); and

-controlling a power system and/or attitude adjustment means of the aircraft based on the control data to cause real-time adjustment of the kinematic state and/or flight attitude of the aircraft (10) following the current kinematic state of the tethered platform (60).

Technical Field

The invention relates to a tethered aircraft. The invention also relates to a flight system comprising such a tethered aircraft and to a control method for such a flight system.

Background

Unmanned aerial vehicle based on vehicle flying line is mainly used for following the shooting or carrying out better visual field detection to the vehicle. At present, this kind of unmanned aerial vehicle mainly adopts four rotor designs. However, the quad-rotor type drone is difficult to cope with a condition where the vehicle travels at a high speed because it cannot support following, flying, and recovery of the vehicle traveling at a high speed regardless of its cruising ability, structural strength, or flight stability, and there is a possibility that the drone may even come apart.

Documents CN107600405A, CN202011472U, CN105015770A, CN110087989A and CN110347182A disclose a drone, respectively, but none of these drones belongs to a tethered drone, nor is it suitable for use as a following drone for vehicles.

Documents CN106794899A, CN105923152A and US20150266574a1 respectively disclose a tethered drone, but these are designed to be connected to a stationary ground platform and are not suitable for acting as a following drone for vehicles.

Document WO2019226917a1 discloses a quad-rotor drone based on a vehicle flying line, which is not usable in situations with high vehicle speeds.

Document CN207759015U discloses a detachable captive vertical take-off and landing fixed wing drone, which still has a propeller independent from the fuselage, resulting in a structural strength insufficient to cope with occasions with high vehicle speeds and a poor cruising ability.

CN109189088A discloses an adaptive cruise tracking method for a tethered drone, but it does not disclose a specific structural design of a drone that can safely and stably ascend and descend and follow a flight in a situation with a high vehicle speed.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a tethered drone capable of taking off, recovering, and stably following the flight even when the vehicle is in a high-speed driving state, and having a good cruising ability.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the invention is achieved by providing a tethered aircraft comprising a fuselage, at least one takeoff and landing duct provided in said fuselage, a lift rotor located in said takeoff and landing duct, at least one thrust duct provided in said fuselage, and a thrust rotor located in said thrust duct, wherein said fuselage has an overall streamlined geometric design such that a left portion of said fuselage forms a left fixed wing and a right portion of said fuselage forms a right fixed wing.

According to an alternative embodiment, the aircraft is configured to be capable of cutting an air flow field by means of the moving speed of the mooring platform to be acted on by the air flow field in a state of being moored to a movable mooring platform, so that the aircraft is dragged to take off or drag to taxi by the mooring platform.

According to an alternative embodiment, the aircraft comprises at least one generator which is operatively connected to at least one lifting rotor and/or at least one thrust rotor, and the aircraft is configured such that, during towing take-off or towing taxiing by the mooring platform, the at least one lifting rotor and/or the at least one thrust rotor is/are actuated by the air flow field to bring the generator to generate electricity regeneratively.

According to an alternative embodiment, the aircraft comprises at least one electric motor for driving a lift rotor and a thrust rotor, the takeoff and landing duct and the lift rotor being configured so as to provide the aircraft with vertical lift under the drive of the electric motor, the thrust duct and the thrust rotor being configured so as to provide the aircraft with forward or reverse thrust under the drive of the electric motor, the electric motor being able in particular to operate in reverse so as to act as a generator.

The tethered aircraft adopts a 'kiteflying' strategy, can slide in the air by utilizing the speed of the vehicle, and has a power system, so that the independent flight of the aircraft can be maintained; the electric energy can be reversely collected to store electricity in the flying process; the direction can be adjusted by adjusting the flight rudder; the lock catch device can be opened to release. The invention can be applied to long-time cruising shooting and terrain detection of vehicles, and can keep extremely strong flight stability no matter how the vehicle speed.

According to an alternative embodiment, the aircraft is configured overall in the form of a dovetail dart.

According to an alternative embodiment, the takeoff and landing duct is constituted by a vertical passage through the fuselage, in particular at the centre of gravity of the aircraft.

According to an alternative embodiment, the thrust duct is provided at the tail of the fuselage, in particular symmetrically about the central longitudinal axis of the fuselage.

According to an alternative embodiment, the lift rotor is constituted by at least one set of coaxial counter-rotating rotors.

According to an alternative embodiment, the aircraft further comprises a horizontal tail with elevators at the trailing edges of the left and right fixed wings, in particular, the horizontal tail is arranged further from the central longitudinal axis of the fuselage than the same-side lifting duct.

According to an alternative embodiment, the aircraft further comprises vertical tail wings with rudders at the inner side edges of the left and right fixed wings facing each other.

According to an alternative embodiment, the body carries a camera device for taking pictures or videos of an object from high altitude.

According to an alternative embodiment, the aircraft further comprises an optional space located on the fuselage, the optional space being adapted to receive different optional equipment, for example comprising lighting means for high-altitude lighting of the tethered platform, to enable different retrofitting.

In another aspect, the object of the invention is also achieved by a flight system comprising an aircraft as described above, a movable mooring platform and a mooring device for connecting the aircraft to the mooring platform.

According to an alternative embodiment, the lanyard device is releasably connected to the aircraft by means of an automatic latching device, in particular at the centre of gravity of the aircraft; and the mooring line is connected to the mooring platform, e.g. a vehicle, by means of a winch.

In a further aspect, the object of the invention is also achieved by a method for controlling a flight system, comprising at least the following steps:

-acquiring current kinematic data of the mobile tethered platform in real time;

-calculating an optimized kinematic state and/or change in flight attitude of the aircraft for the current kinematic state of the tethered platform based on the current kinematic data of the tethered platform;

-determining control data for maneuvering the aircraft based on the calculated changes of the optimized kinematics and/or attitude of the aircraft; and

-controlling a power system and/or attitude adjustment means of the aircraft based on the control data to cause real-time adjustment of the kinematic state and/or flight attitude of the aircraft following the current kinematic state of the tethered platform.

The aircraft has the following beneficial technical effects:

the four-rotor aircraft can take off freely during running, can fly off and can be recovered during high speed, and the traditional four-rotor aircraft cannot take off and recover during high speed running of the vehicle, and the flight speed of the four-rotor aircraft cannot catch up with the vehicle speed;

long endurance is provided, since power supply to the vehicle, taxiing reverse charging of the aircraft and taxiing in the air are independent of power;

the system has extremely high stability, and is suitable for high-speed running due to the overall design and the selection of a rotor duct;

long-term lighting and shooting capabilities can be provided for the vehicle, and image information is transmitted based on flying lines, which is particularly clear;

providing a retrofit design, such as fitting a light or laser;

energy conservation, environmental protection and low cost;

is not affected by the air flow, whereas a traditional quad-rotor aircraft is prone to falling in the wind and is not suitable for aerial photography;

good dynamic performance even in independent flight, with higher efficiency than a traditional quad-rotor aircraft in high-speed follow-up flight;

-an integrated fuselage, which has a high strength and which does not disintegrate during high-speed flight; and

simple structure, better stability, lower cost and fewer modules than conventional quad-rotor aircraft.

Further advantages and advantageous embodiments of the inventive subject matter are apparent from the description, the drawings and the claims.

Drawings

Further features and advantages of the present invention will be further elucidated by the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The attached drawings are as follows:

FIG. 1 illustrates a top view structural schematic of a tethered aircraft in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a side view schematic of the tethered aircraft;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a flight system 100 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

fig. 4 shows a flow chart of a method for controlling an aircraft according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and advantageous effects of the present invention more apparent, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and do not limit the scope of the invention. In the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or equivalent parts.

Fig. 1 shows a top-view structural schematic diagram of a tethered aircraft 10 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 2 shows a side-view structural schematic diagram of the tethered aircraft 10. As shown in fig. 1-2, the tethered aircraft 10 includes a fuselage 11, a takeoff and landing duct 12 and a thrust duct 13 disposed in the fuselage 11, and a lift rotor 14 and a thrust rotor 15 disposed in the takeoff and landing duct 12 and the thrust duct 13, respectively. For the sake of simplicity, the lift rotor 14 is not shown in fig. 2.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the aircraft 10 is configured to generate an upward force acting on the aircraft 10 by air cutting with the aid of the moving speed of the mooring platform 60 in a state of being moored to a movable mooring platform 60 (see fig. 3) so that the aircraft 10 can be towed for takeoff or towing taxiing by the mooring platform 60.

For this purpose, the fuselage 11 is constructed overall, for example, in the form of a substantially streamlined shape in the form of a dovetail dart, wherein the left wing of the dovetail dart forms the left fixed wing 18 of the aircraft 10 and the right wing of the dovetail dart forms the right fixed wing 19 of the aircraft 10. By this structure, the aircraft is made suitable for taxiing in the air, in particular for towing take-off and towing taxiing by a mooring platform moving at a relatively high speed, without disintegration occurring because of the relatively high structural strength of the aircraft.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the aircraft 10 is configured to enable independent take-off and landing and flight by means of its own power system, which on the one hand enables the aircraft 10 to take-off and landing by means of its own power system at low moving speeds of the mooring platform and on the other hand to fly freely, decoupled from the mooring platform.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the lifting duct 12 comprises a vertical passage through the fuselage 11 at the centre of the fuselage 11. In particular, the takeoff and landing duct 12 is provided at the center of gravity of the aircraft 10.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the lift rotor 14 is constituted by at least one set of coaxial counter-rotating rotors. Furthermore, although in the illustrated embodiment the aircraft 11 has one takeoff and landing duct 12, the aircraft 10 may alternatively be provided with two or more takeoff and landing ducts 12, which takeoff and landing ducts 12 may be evenly distributed over the fuselage 11 to provide even takeoff power for the aircraft 10.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the thrust duct 13 is provided at the tail of the fuselage 11, in particular symmetrically with respect to the central longitudinal axis L of the fuselage 11 at the tail of the left fixed wings 18 and 19.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the thrust duct 13 is configured to be pivotable about a horizontal transverse axis to be able to pivot with the thrust rotor 15 located therein between a first position providing forward thrust and a second position providing lift.

Further, the tethered aircraft 10 also includes a horizontal tail fin 16 with elevators at the tail of the fuselage 11, particularly at the trailing edges of the fixed wings 18 and 19. Illustratively, the horizontal tail 16 is disposed farther from the central longitudinal axis L of the fuselage 11 than the thrust duct 13 on the same side. Furthermore, the tethered aircraft 10 also comprises a vertical tail fin 17 with a rudder 171 at the rear of the fuselage 11, in particular at the inner edges of the fixed wings 18 and 19 facing each other. The horizontal tail 16 and the vertical tail 17 are configured to control the flight attitude of the aircraft 10 including the pitch attitude, the roll attitude, and the heading attitude.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the upper side 111 and/or the lower side 112 of the fuselage 11 are configured with a hydrodynamically curved configuration, as shown, for example, in fig. 2.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an imaging device 20, such as a pan-tilt camera, is carried on the fuselage 11 for taking pictures or videos of a subject from high altitude. This is particularly advantageous where the tethered platform is a vehicle, as the follow-up filming of the aircraft can then provide a wide-angle bird's eye view to the occupants to assist driving and to look ahead the scene, thereby providing the occupants with a good visual experience while driving.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the body 11 is provided with an optional space 30, and the optional space 30 is adapted to receive various optional equipments to realize different modifications. Illustratively, the fitting space 30 may receive lighting, which is advantageous in case the mooring platform is a vehicle, since the lighting can provide a following overhead lighting for the vehicle, thereby providing a good driving view for the driver. Additionally or alternatively, the optional device comprises a laser.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, aircraft 10 further includes a control device 40 for controlling the operation of aircraft 10 and a battery unit 80 for powering power components of aircraft 10, such as motors for driving rotors 14 and 15.

It should be noted that the positions of the image capturing device 20, the fitting space 30, the control device 40 and the battery unit 80 shown in fig. 1 are merely exemplary and should not be construed in any limiting sense. These devices may be located at any suitable location on the fuselage 11.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a flight system 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The flight system 100 includes an aircraft 10, a mooring platform 60, and a tether device 50 for connecting the aircraft 10 to the mooring platform 60. The tether device 50 includes a tether 51, with one end of the tether 51 being releasably attached to the aircraft 10 and the other end being wound on a winch 70 secured to a mooring platform 60. In this case, the payout and retraction of the bridle 51 may be performed by operating the winch 70, thereby achieving takeoff and recovery of the aircraft 10 and changing the altitude of the aircraft 10.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the mooring platform 60 may be a vehicle, as shown in FIG. 3. In this case, the winch 70 may be fixed to the ceiling, cargo compartment, or a dedicated take-off and landing device of the vehicle. Alternatively, the tethered platform can be other suitable platforms, such as other mobile platforms (e.g., a ship, another aircraft) or a stationary platform (e.g., the ground).

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the lanyard 51 may comprise a cable configured to transmit electrical power and/or electrical signals. By way of example, by means of the cable, electrical power from the mooring platform 60 may be provided to the aircraft 10 (e.g., for remotely charging the aircraft) and/or electrical power generated by the aircraft 10 may be transmitted to a battery attached to or built into the mooring platform 60. Additionally and/or alternatively, by means of said cables, an exchange of electrical signals (e.g. control signals) and/or data (e.g. images captured by the camera device 20) may be performed between the aircraft 10 and the mooring platform 60.

Additionally, the tether 51 may also include physical cables configured to reinforce the strength of the tether 51 to ensure that the tether 51 is materially capable of meeting the structural strength required during towing, takeoff or towing taxiing of the aircraft 10 by the mooring platform 60. Where the tethered platform 60 is a movable platform, such as a vehicle, the tether 51 is particularly configured to be sufficient to withstand the pulling forces required to tow the aircraft 10 in the event that the tethered platform 60 is moving at high speeds.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the flight system 100 comprises a locker, by means of which the aircraft 10 is releasably connected with the mooring platform 60. A locker may be provided between the lanyard 51 and the aircraft 10. In this case, the locking device is advantageously provided at the centre of gravity of the aircraft 10. Additionally or alternatively, a locker may be provided between the lanyard 51 and the mooring platform 60. In one example, the lockers are configured to automatically release the lockdown, for example, to free the aircraft 10 when the aircraft 10 has been raised to a flight altitude.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the aircraft 10 includes at least one generator operatively connected to at least one lifting rotor 14 and/or at least one thrust rotor 15, and the aircraft 10 is configured such that during towing take-off or towing taxiing by the tethered platform 60, the at least one lifting rotor 14 and/or the at least one thrust rotor 15 is actuated by the air flow field to power the generator for regenerative power generation. Illustratively, at least one of the motors for driving rotors 14 and 15 is configured to operate in a reversible manner to be able to function as the generator in the generating mode of aircraft 10. The current generated by the generator may then be stored in a battery unit 80 built into the aircraft 10 for subsequent use by the aircraft 10, or may be transmitted to the mooring platform 60 by means of the tether 51. In this way, the endurance of the aircraft is significantly improved.

In one example, the aircraft 10 is configured to be angled with respect to the airflow during taxiing such that the at least one lift rotor 14 and/or the at least one thrust rotor 15 are effective to cut the airflow for being carried by the airflow field for regenerative power generation. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one lift rotor 14 and/or the at least one thrust rotor 15 are configured to be pivotable to adaptively change the direction of the cutting air flow field to maximize the recovery of the air flow field energy.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the flight system 100 further comprises a control device for controlling the aircraft 10 and the devices carried thereby (for example, a camera and/or an optional device). The steering device may be configured as a stand-alone handle or may be built into a tethered platform or mobile terminal, for example. In one example, a user may have control of aerial photography within a vehicle and may view images captured by a camera in real time.

The manner in which the aircraft 10 operates is explained in detail below.

Taking off

The takeoff modes of the aircraft 10 according to the present invention may include at least powered takeoff and towed takeoff. In the case of powered takeoff, the lift rotors 14 are rotated at high speed by respective motors to generate vertical lift to drive the aircraft 10 for vertical takeoff. The power for the actuation motors may be provided by a battery unit 80 built into the aircraft 10 or may be provided by the mooring platform 60 via the mooring line 51. Powered takeoff is suitable for takeoff of the aircraft 10 from a stationary or slow moving tethered platform 60. Furthermore, power takeoff is suitable for takeoff of the aircraft 10 in a manner connected to the mooring platform 60, and also for free takeoff of the aircraft 10 in a manner disconnected from the mooring platform. Furthermore, the thrust duct 13 and its thrust rotors 15, if configured to be pivotable (see above), may be rotated to a vertical orientation at power takeoff in order to also provide vertical lift to the aircraft 10.

In the case of a drag takeoff, the aircraft 10 is towed by the mooring platform 60 travelling at relatively high speed, like a kite, so as to be acted upon by the air flow field by the uplift forces and thus gradually raised by cutting the air flow field. Also, during towing takeoff, the lift rotor 14 and/or the thrust rotor 15 are not driven to rotate by the motor, but are actuated by the air flow field and in turn drive the motor acting as a generator to regenerate electricity.

Heel fly

The heel-fly mode of the aircraft 10 according to the present invention for the mobile tethered platform 60 may include at least tethered heel-fly and non-tethered heel-fly, i.e., free heel-fly. In the case of tethered heeling, the aircraft 10 may switch between a drag power mode, which is suitable for motion conditions where the tethered platform is stationary and high in speed, and a power mode, which is suitable for motion conditions where the tethered platform is low in speed or is not stationary in motion, such as sharp or frequent accelerations and decelerations and turns, based on the motion conditions of the tethered platform 60.

In the case of free-following flight, the flight of the aircraft 10 may be controlled based on real-time motion data (e.g., speed, acceleration, direction of motion, pedal data, navigation and/or road condition data, etc.) of the tethered platform and/or instructions from the operator of the aircraft.

With the thrust duct 13 and its thrust rotors 15 configured to be pivotable, the thrust duct 13 and its thrust rotors 15 may be rotated to a horizontal orientation in a power mode to provide forward thrust for the aircraft 10.

Recovering

The recovery mode of the aircraft 10 according to the invention may comprise at least autonomous recovery and traction recovery by means of the recovery bridle 51. In the case of autonomous recovery, the aircraft 10 is flown towards the target recovery position by means of the control of the power system comprising the ducts 12 and 13, the rotors 14 and 15 and their associated motors, and of the attitude adjustment means comprising the horizontal tail 16 and the vertical tail 17.

In the case of pull recovery, the aircraft 10 is pulled back to the mooring platform 60 by operating the winches to retract the bridle 51.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of a method for controlling the aircraft 10 to achieve stable linkage of the aircraft 10 with the movable tethered platform 60 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The method is particularly suitable for the tethered flying following of the aircraft to the tethered platform.

In step S10, current kinematic data of the tethered platform 60 is collected in real time, which may include any suitable data on the tethered platform that may affect the kinematic state and flight attitude of the aircraft 10 in the follow-up flight state, including but not limited to: a speed of movement of the tethered platform, an acceleration of movement of the tethered platform, a direction of movement of the tethered platform, steering wheel data of the tethered platform, and/or pedal data of the tethered platform.

In step S20, an optimized kinematic state and/or change in flight attitude of the aircraft 10 for the current kinematic state of the tethered platform 60 is calculated based on the current kinematic data of the tethered platform 60, which should ensure that the aircraft 10 remains in stable linkage with the tethered platform 60.

In step S30, control data for maneuvering the aircraft 10 are determined based on the calculated changes in the optimized kinematics and/or attitude of the aircraft 10;

in step S40, the power system of the aircraft (including ducts 12 and 13, rotors 14 and 15 and their associated motors) and/or attitude adjustment devices (including horizontal tail 16 and vertical tail 17) are controlled based on the control data to cause the aircraft 10 to make real-time adjustments of the kinematic state and/or flight attitude following the current kinematic state of the tethered platform.

The method according to the invention achieves: the aircraft can always realize stable follow-up flight of the mooring platform in smooth flight without being violently pulled by the mooring platform due to operations such as acceleration and deceleration and/or turning of the mooring platform.

According to the invention, it is achieved that:

the height of the flight can be adjusted by operating the winches;

innovatively designing the following aircraft as a fixed-wing aircraft, and designing the aircraft in a targeted manner based on the on-board scenario, the aircraft design approaching an optimal solution; the problems are solved by the idea of flying kites, and the triangular dart approaching to a wide body is integrally designed, so that the future feeling is greatly enriched;

considering the connection relationship between the aircraft and the vehicle, the design of linkage stability is increased to cope with the sudden vehicle speed change;

-the headspace may be retrofitted;

independent operation even in an environment without connection to the vehicle, taxi flight still having a high efficiency;

the aircraft can be unlocked for free flight; and

the power plant and the hawser are located at the centre of gravity of the aircraft, maintaining stability.

Although some embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The appended claims and their equivalents are intended to cover all such modifications, substitutions and changes as fall within the true scope and spirit of the invention.