Signal-Based H∞ Longitudinal Controller Design for the Flying-V Aircraft

Flight control system design for the Flying-V has been an active research area. However, despite the strengths of H ∞ control, this framework has not yet been considered for the system design. Therefore, this study details the synthesis of a longitudinal control law using the robust control signal-based H ∞ framework. The trimming procedure used to obtain operating points and linearized fight dynamics is explained, followed by a description of the design requirements which are systematically converted into hard constraints for synthesis. A structured controller design is conducted and the resulting system is evaluated in terms of performance and robustness in linear and nonlinear settings. Results indicate effective disturbance and noise rejection, stability under parametric uncertainties, Level 1 handling qualities predictions, and adequate performance. The C* control law effectiveness paves the way for future enhancements in gain-scheduled robust controllers for the Flying-V and for the extension to lateral-directional designs.