System Modeling and Controller Design for Lateral and Longitudinal Motion of F-16

Classical control laws are still widely used in aviation industry because of their good structural understanding, simplicity, and better tracking control performance. However in recent decades the application of such controllers are getting substantial interest of researchers. This paper addresses controller design method for longitudinal and lateral motion autopilots of F-16. Aircraft complete mathematical model was obtained using Newton-Euler formulism. The non-linear model was linearized around equilibrium points at certain trim conditions to obtain state space model of the system. Comparative analysis of two linear controllers, Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) and Linear-Quadratic-Regulator (LQR) is investigated and control algorithm is proposed. Both the control schemes use feedback control laws and a careful selection of tuning parameters for controllers is carried out to track the desired input reference. Effectiveness of both controllers is illustrated with the help Matlab/Simulink figures and results.