F-14 flight control law design, verification, and validation using computer aided engineering tools

This paper specifically addresses the methods in use for the F-14 Digital Flight Control System (DFCS) program, however many of the methods used in this effort are currently being applied to the F-18E/F, V-22 and EA-6B programs. Incorporation of a control law design into the flight control computer´s operational flight program requires the engineer to follow specific design and implementation tasks in order to prove the design. These design tasks include detailed control law development, open-loop feedback stability robustness tests, and closed-loop control law performance testing. The implementation tasks include coding the design into a full non-linear simulation, verification of the control law execution, validation of the control law performance, and certification to ensure the complete system is qualified for flight testing. Many of these tasks were accomplished using a full non-linear simulation of the F-14 combined with tools developed using the SIMULINK graphical analysis package. The paper discusses the complete process from control law design to piloted evaluation while placing emphasis on the tools that were used to complete this effort