Unified controller for take-off and landing for a fixed-wing aircraft

TL;DR

This paper develops a unified feedback control system for both take-off and landing maneuvers of fixed-wing aircraft, modeling ground dynamics and validating stability through simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel unified controller for take-off and landing, incorporating ground resistance forces and providing stability proof and simulation validation.

Findings

Controller effectively manages take-off and landing phases

Stability of the control system is mathematically validated

Simulations confirm the controller's performance

Abstract

Take-off and landing are the most important maneuvers for an aircraft's flight. Deployment for small fixed-wing aircraft is usually made by hand but when payload increases, take-off, and landing maneuvers are then performed on a runway making the procedures more complex. For that reason, we address the performance of the two maneuvers in order to develop a unique controller using the feedback control technique. We present the longitudinal aircraft dynamics to model the take-off and landing considering the rolling resistance forces during ground roll through a friction model. We also present the controller design for such a model. A stability proof is conducted to validate the stability of the system with the developed control law. Additionally, simulations are carried out to corroborate that the control law is effective applied to the dynamic model presented.