Flight Tracking Control for Helicopters Based on High-Order Fully Actuated Systems Approaches^*

In this article, we propose an innovative control methodology for helicopter flight trajectory tracking using high-order fully actuated systems approaches. Although helicopters inherently exhibit strong coupling characteristics and significant nonlinearities, these complexities can be effectively addressed through feedback linearization techniques, which transform the nonlinear helicopter dynamics into a manageable high-order linear system. Building upon this transformation, a controller is developed using the direct parametric method to establish a linear system with precisely defined eigenstructures. The stability of the control scheme is rigorously proven through Lyapunov analysis, demonstrating that the helicopter can achieve accurate tracking performance. Simulation studies in MATLAB/Simulink show that the control approach enables the helicopter to track trajectories rapidly with smooth motion and bounded inputs.