LQR Based Digital Autopilot For Light Sport Aircraft

aircraft, autopilot, flight control system, LQR

This paper addresses research on modern methods in automatic Flight Control System design and evaluation, as seen from the perspective of state-of-the-art and future utilization on Unmanned Aerial Systems. The paper introduces a Flight Control System design process with a special emphasis on the Model-Based Design approach. An integral part of this process is the composition of the aircrafts mathematical model employed in the flight control laws synthesis and the development of a simulation framework for the evaluation of the automatic Flight Control System's stability and performance.The core of this work is aimed at flight control laws synthesis built around the optimal control theory. The researched flight control laws originating from the proposed design process were integrated into an experimental digital Flight Control System.