Gain scheduling automatic landing system by modeling Ground Effect

Taking ground effect into account a longitudinal automatic landing system is designed. Such a system will be tested and implemented on board by using the Preceptor N3 Ultrapup aircraft which is used as technological demonstrator of new control navigation and guidance algorithms in the context of the “Research Project of National Interest” (PRIN 2008) by the Universities of Bologna, Palermo, Ferrara and the Second University of Naples. A general mathematical model of the studied aircraft has been built to obtain non–linear analytical equations for aerodynamic coefficients both Out of Ground Effect and In Ground Effect. To cope with the strong variations of aerodynamic coefficients In Ground Effect a modified gain scheduling approach has been employed for the synthesis of the controller by using six State Space Models. Stability and control matrices have been evaluated by linearization of the obtained aerodynamic coefficients. To achieve a simple structure of the control system, an original landing geometry has been chosen, therefore it has been imposed to control the same state variables during both the glide path and the flare.