MATLAB toolbox for handling qualities assessment of flight control laws

The handling characteristics of an aircraft are fundamentally linked to the selection of parameters in stability and command augmentation systems, and to meet rigorous new military specifications, it is necessary to fully integrate handling requirements into the complete control law design and analysis cycle. This paper describes a MATLAB Handling Qualities Toolbox that has been developed as a supplement to existing CACSD packages in order to reinforce such a design philosophy. It is demonstrated how the toolbox can be used to guide selection of control law parameters to meet level 1 performance requirements and also how an increased understanding of the handling requirements can reduce development time and improve simulation and flight test efficiency