Nonlinear Flight Control Systems

Abstract

This chapter aims to provide the reader with a basic understanding of nonlinear control theory and its applicability to flight control system design. To begin with the limitation of the gain‐scheduling technique widely used for flight control is discussed, and subsequently the taxonomy of the system dynamics is touched in order to help understand how the model characteristics affects the nonlinear controller design. Then nonlinear control theories attractive to flight control system are briefly introduced with tutorials and control law derivations based on aircraft dynamics, which includes feedback linearization, sliding mode control, backstepping control, receding horizon control and other approaches. This chapter finishes with giving conclusions and perspectives of the nonlinear flight control systems.