A gain scheduling approach for a flexible aircraft

A technique based on interpolation of the solutions of Riccati equations for frozen H_∞ designs is used for gain scheduling over the full flight envelope of a flexible aircraft. The aircraft model consists of a linear parameter-varying model of a flexible B1 bomber that varies with the Mach number from 0.2 to 0.8 Mach. The performance objectives are to track the pitch demand and to alleviate the loads due to wind gusts. The flexibility of the aircraft is taken into account through four flexible modes. The method presented is shown to provide good results over the full flight envelope, while allowing for a simple implementation structure.