Design and Tests of Guidance and Control Systems for Autonomous Flight of a Low-Speed Model Airplane for Application to a Small-scale Unmanned Supersonic Airplane

Abstract

To realize innovative transportation systems for intercontinental flight and orbital spaceflight, it is essential to establish the necessary aerodynamic, structural, propulsion, and control technologies for a vehicle to fly at high altitudes and speeds within the atmosphere, and to verify them by using small-scale unmanned supersonic experimental aircraft. This paper describes the control technologies for a 3-kg low-speed model airplane flying autonomously from takeoff, through a circuit, to landing. Guidance and control systems are established for the plane, and flight experiments verify that the control laws work well for all flight modes.