TIME-OPTIMAL LATERAL MANEUVERS OF AN AIRCRAFT

Results and analysis are presented from a study of time-optimal lateral maneuvers for an aircraft during the power-on-approach-to-landing portion of the flight, typically used for landing on an aircraft carrier. A full six-degree-of-freedom model is used to model the motions of the aircraft. The optimal control problems of interest are formulated and a family of optimal solutions obtained for two classes of lateral maneuvers. These include an unconstrained maneuver and one with bank-angle and sideslip-angle constraints imposed on the approach trajectory. The control powers of elevator, rudder, and aileron are varied individually, and thus an estimate of the change in downrange distance to perform the lateral maneuvers due to the control power change is obtained.