ADVANCED AIRCRAFT FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM

MANY CONTROL THEORIES EXIST, AND MOST HAVE BEEN TRIED AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER WITH AIRCRAFT DYNAMICS AS THE PLANT IN ILLUSTRATIVE EXEERCISES. VERY, VERY FEW ARE APPLIED TO FLIGHT CONTROL ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS. A USEFUL, UNIFIED THEORY MUST COPE WITH MANY, OFTEN CONFLICTING COMPLEXITIES UNIQUE TO THE FLIGHT CONTROL PROBLEM. THESE INCLUDE: ACCOMMODATION OF HUMAN OPERATOR, VARIETIES OF MISSIONS AND OPERATING POINTS, COMPLEXITY IN CONTROLLED ELEMENT DYNAMICS (E.G., FLEXIBLE MODES, NONLINEAR AERODYNAMICS), COMPLEX CONTROLLERS (E.G., MULTILOOP STRUCTURES, DIGITAL COMPONENTS, CONTROL EFFECTOR LIMITS). THE BASIC THRUST THIS PROGRAM IS THE FORMULATION AND EXPOSITION OF A COMPREHENSIVE AND ECLECTIC THEORY OF FLIGHT CONTROL SYNTHESES AND ANALYSIS THAT SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSES ISSUES INHERENT IN SUCH SYSTEMS. PREVIOUS DEVELOPMENTS IN SYNERGISTIC COMBINATION OF CLASSICAL AND MODERN CONTROL THEORIES WILL BE EXTENDED TO PROVIDE THE DESIGNER OF FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEMS WITH PRACTICAL TOOLS FOR SYNTHESIS OF COMPETING SYSTEM ARCHITECTURES AND ANALYSIS OF SYSTEMS WITH CANDIDATE PARAMETER VALUES. PARTICULAR ATTENTION IS PLACED ON THE PRESENCE OF THE HUMAN IN THE AIRCRAFT CONTROL LOOP AND IN THE SYSTEM DESIGN PROCESS. THE THEORY AND PROCEDURES DEVELOPED ARE APPLIED TO A HIGH PERFORMANCE FIGHTER DESIGN AS AN ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE.