Variable Structure Control of Catastrophic Course in Airdropping Heavy Cargo

The mathematical model of a transport aircraft would be subjected to a sudden change when heavy cargo is dropped off in airdropping, which exerts serious influences upon the safety of the aircraft. A variable structure controller is specially designed for handling the airdrop process. The nonlinear system is linearized by input-output feedback linearization using differential geometry theories. On this basis, an inner loop system for velocity and attitude tracking control is designed by using the exponentially approaching rule of the variable structure theory. The whole flight control system is integrated with the outer loop flight altitude control. Digital simulation evidences the applicability of the system to potentially catastrophic course in airdropping heavy cargo and provides robustness against system parameter perturbation.