Simultaneous Realization of Handling and Gust Responses: In-Flight Simulator Controller Design

This paper addresses the design problem of a flight controller for an in-flight simulator, in which the controller is required to realize the gust response and the handling response of the target aircraft simultaneously. A two-degree-of-freedom model-matching controller is proposed to meet this requirement, with feedback and feedforward controllers designed to vary the gust response and handling response characteristics, respectively. The controller is designed in two steps: the feedback controller is first designed via the H-infinity model-matching approach, then the feedforward controller is designed as a filtered right inverse system of the closed-loop system comprising the plant dynamics and the feedback controller. Controllers are designed to enable a research aircraft to simulate the lateral-directional motions of two target aircraft models: a Boeing 747 and a Convair 880M. Hardware-in-the-loop simulations and flight tests with the designed controllers confirm that they achieve the simultaneous realization of gust response and handling response of the target aircraft. Additionally, an in-flight simulator controller for investigating handling qualities for lateral-directional motions is designed, and hardware-in-the-loop simulations and flight tests confirm its applicability to handling-quality investigation.