Control of an eVTOL using nonlinear dynamic inversion

Abstract

This paper presents a Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion (NDI) based flight controller using virtual controls, generalised forces and moments for the longitudinal motion control of a VTOL aircraft including transition manoeuvres. The control architecture is general for piloted, semi-automatic and fully-automated flight. It consists of a main inner-loop NDI controller that is used for forward cruise flight and an outer linear controller used for low speed and hover. Forward and backward transition manoeuvres are executed by switching between the NDI-based controller and position control loops. Simulation results show the control potential for both hover and cruise as well as over the vital transition flight phase.