Research on High-Precision Thrust Control Methods for Vertical Short Takeoff and Landing Aircraft

Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing (V/STOL) aircraft are crucial aviation assets, combining the flexibility of helicopters with the speed of fixed-wing aircraft. However, during hovering and vertical landing modes, these aircraft rely on the propulsion system to directly control their attitude, demanding high responsiveness and precision in thrust control-requirements that traditional speed controllers struggle to meet. This study adopts a direct thrust control architecture, designing an onboard adaptive model to estimate engine thrust and a thrust controller to directly manage thrust. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed model achieves high accuracy, with errors as low as 0.0004% even under engine degradation. The direct thrust controller also significantly outperforms traditional speed controllers, offering faster response times and zero steady-state error. These results underscore the effectiveness of advanced thrust control in enhancing the stability and performance of V/STOL aircraft.