Investigation of the dynamic stability for a light aircraft

The dynamic behavior of the aircraft can be simulated if an appropriate model of the aircraft is generated with a view to predicting the amount of force required by the actuators that would control the surfaces and make the aircraft stable from a disturbance. The dynamic stability of a light aircraft called the Air Beetle (ABT- 18) was investigated where the geometry of the aircraft was inputted in Athena Vortex Lattice (AVL) Software using X downstream, Y outright wing and Z up coordinates to investigate how stable the aircraft will be on the longitudinal and lateral directions respectively. A model of the aircraft was created with dimensionless aerodynamic coefficients based on trim flight condition. The aircraft specifications were inputted in AVL and aerodynamic stability coefficients were produced. The simulation was carried out in the graphic environment of MATLAB Simulink, where block models of the aircraft were formed. Thereafter, transfer functions were obtained from thesolutions of the light aircraft equations of motions. Pole placement method was used to test the stability of the Aircraft. Aerospace, Control, Avionics Students and Designers will find this book useful.