A Research on the Short-Takeoff Performance and Flight Control of STOVL Aircraft

The present work investigates the short take-off flight performance and controller design of the STOVL unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with thrust vector control. Because of the STOVL UAV’s special dynamic characteristics during the short take-off process and its strict requirements regarding take-off attitude angle, the short take-off control scheme is determined by the calculation and analysis of short take-off and level flight performance. An improved eigenstructure assignment method is used in the STOVL UAV controller design. A nonlinear flight dynamic model with six degrees-of-freedom is established by wind tunnel experimental data and the controller is applied to the short take-off flight simulation of the STOVL UAV in order to verify the feasibility and effect of the control scheme.