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.