Reachability and controllability analysis in aircraft control

This article proposes an extension of the reachable and controllable sets theory for multi-step aircraft constrained optimal control problems. Initially, a brief overview of the reachable and controllable sets theory is provided, together with the aircraft multi-step constrained optimal control problem. In total, 4 aircraft cases are analyzed (a general aviation aircraft, a fighter jet, a business jet and a large commercial craft). Considering the specific parameters of the models and with a given prediction horizon, the controllable and reachable sets are determined for each time instance and graphical representations of their layout is provided for each type of aircraft considered. This extension of the reachability and controllability aspects for multi-step constrained optimal problems related to aircraft control can serve in use cases for the design and development of aircraft systems which also employ model predictive control techniques.