Herein, a twin-boom, inverted V-tailed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) featuring a foldable bi-wing configuration is proposed for logistics and transportation applications. We employed the NavierStokes solver to numerically simulate steady, incompressible flow conditions. By examining the effects of key design parameters on aerodynamic characteristics and bypass flow fields in a two-dimensional state, we were able to suggest a more optimized foldable wing design. Building on the two-dimensional analysis, we performed aerodynamic assessments of the three-dimensional aircraft geometry. Our results indicated that appropriate wing and gap parameters can significantly enhance lift characteristics, maintaining high lift even during large-angle flights. Specifically, when compared to a mono-wing, the lift coefficient of the bi-wing increased by 27.1 at a 14 angle of attack, demonstrating the effectiveness of our wing-and-gap design. Optimal aerodynamic performance was achieved when the gap distance equalled the chord length in both flow and vertical directions. Further, the right combination of airfoil configuration, wing axes angle, and wingspan can improve flow field aerodynamic characteristics, while also enhancing the wings stall capacity. The lift coefficient reached its maximum value at an angle of attack of 15, which has the potential to reduce takeoff and landing distances, thereby enhancing the UAVs overall safety.

This study employs computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to investigate the aerodynamic performance and static stability of hybrid wing aircraft, considering the interference of counter-rotating embedded propellers. Extensive numerical verification has been carried out, including comparisons with NASA’s high-lift propeller (HLP) data. Three configurations—no propeller, counter-rotating inboard-upwash (CNIU) and counter-rotating outboard-upwash (CNOU) are defined to analyze the aerodynamic force/moment characteristics and flow field structures over a range of angles of attack from −6° to 26°, in conjunction with crosswind velocities of 0, 5, 10, and 15 m/s. The propeller-induced slipstream alters the aircraft’s fundamental performance by modifying wing pressure distributions and vortex systems. Specifically, the CNIU configuration increases the low-pressure areas on both the fuselage and outer wing upper surfaces, enhancing the lift-to-drag ratio by 28.4% at low angles of attack. In contrast, the CNOU configuration improves longitudinal steady-static margin by 27.4% under typical conditions and demonstrates superior lateral static stability under 10 m/s leftward crosswind conditions. For engineering applications in the aerodynamic design of such aircraft, the CNIU configuration is recommended for high cruise efficiency, whereas the CNOU configuration is preferred for flight stability.

This study investigated the influence of inverted U/V‐tail configurations on the controllability and stability characteristics of twin‐boom logistics UAVs. The longitudinal and lateral‐directional dynamic models were developed through small perturbation theory, whereas steady‐state CFD simulations provided the necessary dynamic derivatives and surface pressure distributions. The results demonstrate that the inverted U‐tail configuration offers significant stability advantages. Its longitudinal static stability is 34.1% higher than that of the inverted V‐tail configuration. Additionally, the absolute lateral and directional static stability margins are improved by 47.5% and 47.9%, respectively. Modal analysis reveals that the inverted U‐tail configuration exhibits superior damping in the phugoid, Dutch roll, and spiral modes, a feature that effectively suppresses low‐frequency attitude oscillations. Conversely, the inverted V‐tail configuration shows higher sensitivity in roll mode response. Flight quality evaluations indicate that the inverted U‐tail provides better overall performance across most flight regimes. These findings suggest that the inverted U‐tail configuration is a more suitable choice for enhancing the operational reliability of logistics UAVs in complex environments.