Identification and adaptive control: An application to flight control systems

This paper presents the first results obtained in the application of stochastic control theory to flight control problems. It involves identification and adaptive control of an aircraft which operates over a wide range of environmental conditions that affect its dynamic characteristics. The bulk of the paper deals with theidentification problem of estimating stability derivatives in the presence of turbulence. Simulation results are presented both for identification and control (windgust alleviation and desired response to pilot input). While no practical implementation is reported, the implications for such implementation appear to be promising.The author is indebted to Mr. K. Iliff for all the simulation results using the IBM 360-91 at UCLA. The many helpful discussions with Dr. H. Rediess are gratefully acknowledged. Thanks are also due to Mr. Jiri Ruzicka for lending a helping hand throughout.