DEFINITION:

The flight control system of an aircraft enables the pilot to control the aircraft along a desired trajectory and overcome the aerodynamic forces acting on the control surfaces. It improves the stability and flying qualities of an aircraft to a desired level. Current civil transport aircraft and military fighter aircraft are equipped with electronic fly-by-wire flight control systems providing easy, safe and economic operation of the vehicle under all operating conditions. Research on flight control systems uses analytical and experimental techniques to design a system to control the aircraft and subsequently analyse the stability of the closed-loop system, i.e. the aircraft with the pilot (or autopilot) in the loop.

(Source: ACARE Domain 502)

SUBDOMAINS:

1. System Identification (see 501)
2. Mathematical modelling (see 501, adding sensors and FSC systems models)
3. Definition of controller requirements and desired handling criteria
4. Controller design – control theory (architecture, algorithms, robustness)
5. Thrust vectoring and integrated flight- and propulsion control
6. Analytical controller analysis (stability and robustness, using linear models)
7. Controller analysis using desktop simulation
8. Controller analysis using a flight simulator (pilot-in-the-loop, handling qualities)
9. Flight test analysis (see 501, including handling qualities)
10. Development of a more efficient, integrated design and analysis process for robust controllers