Path accuracy limitations of inertially based flight trajectory control system in a turbulent environment

Parameter optimization is a powerful technique for synthesizing optimal control systems for stochastic, reduced state feedback, fixed configuration control systems. This paper illustrates the application of parameter optimization to optimize inertial measurement based vertical and lateral control systems for a jet transport aircraft. The mean square gust induced path deviation is minimized subject to penalty on the mean square effector activity. The resulting solutions are presented as curves which display minimum RMS position error and parameter values as a function of RMS effector activity. The optimized solutions are compared to the performance achieved by a conventional trajectory control system using Instrument Landing System measurements.