The design of helicopter flight control systems using advanced H∞ control

This paper reports on the experience gained when a multivariable helicopter flight control law was tested on the Large Motion Simulator (LMS) at DRA Bedford. This was part of a study into the application of multivariable control theory to the design of full-authority flight control systems for high-performance helicopters. Results are presented that were obtained during the piloted simulation trial. The performance provided by the control law led to level 1 handling quality ratings for all of the mission task elements assessed, both during the real-time and off-line analysis.