Transition Control Design of a Tail‐Sitter VTOL Aircraft Using a Multi‐Objective Optimization Approach Under Uncertainties

ABSTRACT This article addresses the control of a tail‐sitter VTOL aircraft, a convertible configuration that combines the advantages of fixed‐wing and rotary‐wing flight. The transition between flight modes is particularly challenging due to substantial 90‐degree attitude changes, strong aerodynamic coupling, and parameter uncertainties. To address these challenges, a multi‐objective optimization technique is employed to tune a set of robust controllers by treating model uncertainties as conflicting objectives. We implement an equilibrium‐state switching strategy featuring a preventive dwell time; this mechanism decouples numerical switching transients from the physical maneuver, allowing any residual energy resulting from the controller permutation to dissipate before the reference signals begin to evolve. Numerical evidence of practical stability of the proposed architecture is provided using a multiple‐Lyapunov‐function (MLF) framework. Simulation results demonstrate that the optimized controllers satisfy the prescribed performance bounds and maintain robust performance even under worst‐case aerodynamic variations.