Nonlinear control for the longitudinal dynamics of a small scale helicopter

A nonlinear control scheme is proposed for the trajectory tracking problem of a small scale helicopter´s longitudinal dynamics. The control scheme is based on a control design procedure that constructs static stabilizers for nonlinear systems which are linearizable by dynamic feedback. The flatness properties of the helicopter´s longitudinal dynamics are exploited to design the desired trajectory. Sufficient conditions are given to guarantee asymptotic convergence to zero of the tracking error assuming that all the helicopter´s parameters are known and that all states are measured. Numerical simulations are provided to illustrate the properties of the proposed controller.