Highly-automatic operation is desired for medium-sized unmanned aircraft. However, the state-of-the-art automatic control systems of large vehicles are not suitable for these. This thesis presents a robust automation methodology, with which the critical maneuvers of take-off and landing can still be performed automatically. The methodology is demonstrated by the design of an automatic take-off and landing system for the unmanned 150 kg aircraft SAGITTA Demonstrator. The successful fully-automatic maiden flight of this vehicle proves the maturity and robustness of the proposed methodology and the resulting system design.
