This study proposes a strategy to incorporate control and stability aspects into the preliminary design of a tandem-wing, long-range eVTOL aircraft concept. Four operational phases are considered: cruise, transition, hover, and ground operation. For cruise, a method to design for open-loop stability and size aerodynamic control surfaces is presented. Furthermore, a controller is designed to improve handling qualities. For hover controllability by differential thrust is considered, and for ground operation, the positioning of the landing gear is performed according to clearance and tip-over requirements. A novel analytical model is derived for the tandem wing aircraft in order to estimate during the preliminary design phase the stability derivatives of the aerodynamic forces and moments. The transition manoeuvre between vertical and horizontal flight is only treated with qualitative considerations, due to the highly nonlinear dynamics involved during this flight phase.

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