Automated spin recovery under aerodynamic and load factor constraints

This paper addresses the problem of aircraft spin recovery with aerodynamic and load factor constraints. The spin recovery problem is divided into two phases. The first phase of the spin recovery problem is to stop the rotation and break the stall, and the second phase is to pull up to recover from the dive. For both the phases, the control law is designed using a sliding-mode and demonstrated on a F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle simulation model. Robustness is tested using Monte Carlo simulation by varying the mass properties of aircraft and the aerodynamic model. Furthermore, the simulations summary show that the proposed control scheme achieved spin recovery in both the considered cases while satisfying the aerodynamic and load factor constraints. The effectiveness of the closed-loop spin recovery in minimizing altitude lost during recovery is evaluated by comparing it with the typical manual recovery outlined in the Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization (NATOPS) flight manual. Finally, previous spin recovery research serves as validation for the current study.