In-flight launch of unmanned aerial vehicles

This paper considers the development of a system to enable the in-flight-launch of one aerial system by another. The paper
will discuss how an optimal release mechanism was developed, taking into account the aerodynamics of one specific mother and child
UAV. Furthermore, it will discuss the PID-based control concept that was introduced in order to autonomously stabilize the child UAV
after being released from the mothership UAV. Finally, the paper will show how the concept of a mothership UAV + child UAV
combination could be usefully taken into advantage in the context of a search and rescue operation.