VTOL AIRCRAFT OPTIMAL STATE-SPACE TRACKING CONTROL.

Control laws for a jet-lift VTOL aircraft automatic landing system are synthesized using linear optimal control theory applied in the tracking mode. Only the low-speed and touchdown regions of the flight envelop are considered. A mathematical model representing the dynamic flight behavior of the Short SC1 aircraft is used in the study and a suitable landing flight path for this vehicle is outlined. A brief review of optimal control theory is given followed by the formulation of the state equations. The brief review of optimal control theory is given followed by the formulation of the state equations. The performance criterion is then constructed and the controller design procedure demonstrated. Results illustrate that the control laws give excellent performance in all planes. The merits of the synthesis technique are discussed and some comparison is made between the performance of this control system and a conventionally designed system applied to the same problem.