Flight Control Modeling and Integration from a Real-Time Systems Simulator to a Flight Training Device

Simulation is an important tool in control system design. Real-time simulation of flight controllers for the GARTEUR designed RCAM challenge was previously conducted on the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies real-time systems simulator (RTSS). As a next step to the controller design and simulation problem, it was desired to test a controller in the flight training device (FTD), which presents a more complex and realistic aircraft model, as well as offering a different visual perspective. The FTD runs on a commercial simulation software package called FLSIM. This project consisted of transferring two controllers from the RTSS to a FLSIM module. In order to duplicate the RCAM landing approach, the trajectory generator was also transferred. All other systems, such as flight dynamics and control actuators, were modeled by FLSIM. Through this exercise, a procedure for transferring models from the RTSS to the FTD was developed. Furthermore, it was found that controllers developed in the RTSS function in the FTD environment, but require tuning to achieve optimal results due to the more complex operational environment.