Abstract
This paper presents the experimental investigation of a biplane micro air vehicle. The effects of geometric parameters, gap, stagger, and decalage angle are investigated at low Reynolds number (~150,000) in a low-speed wind tunnel. A rigid flat plate with an aspect ratio of one and square planform shape is used to evaluate all three geometric parameters. The side dimension of the single flat plate is 0.15 m. The goal is to find an optimal biplane configuration that should exceed monoplane performance by generating high lift and flying as slow as possible, in order to capture high-quality visual recordings. This configuration will directly help to fly at a lower velocity and to make tighter turns that are advantageous in restricted environments. The results show that the aerodynamic performance of the biplane MAV is significantly enhanced through the combination of gap and stagger effects. A performance comparison demonstrates the superiority of the optimal biplane configuration compared to a monoplane in cruise and glide phases. Moreover, no significant compromise is found for the range, endurance, and climb performance.