Perched landing manoeuvres with a variable sweep wing UAV

A new collection of controllers is developed based on observations from similar landing techniques performed by birds and hang-gliders onto flat ground. The three-stage landing process takes the aircraft along an approach path, through a roundout procedure during which airspeed decays and concludes with rapid pitch up. Flight test results are presented during which it is found that the airspeed can be reduced to, on average, under 3 m/s in the final moments before landing - well below the stall speed of 9 m/s.