Robust Control Design for the Flying-V within the Signal-Based H-infinity Framework

The Flying V concept aircraft represents a notable candidate to reduce the carbon footprint of the aviation industry, with a potential 20% decrease in fuel use and a 17% higher lift-overdrag ratio. However, given the inherent design limitations concerning low control authority and pitch break-up tendencies, a well-designed control system is crucial for the aircraft’s safe operation. Thus, this study proposes a systematic design and tuning of a digital longitudinal flight control system that explicitly addresses robustness specifications a-priori. The flight dynamics simulation modeling is first detailed, followed by the outline and discussion of the design specifications. A C∗ longitudinal control law is designed using a signal-based Hinf framework. Results indicate effective disturbance and noise rejection, stability under parametric uncertainties, Level 1 handling qualities, and satisfactory performance in the nonlinear model. These results validate the control law’s effectiveness, paving the way for future enhancements in gain-scheduled controllers for the Flying V.