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This paper describes the modeling and parameter estimation of the aileron and elevator
flight control system of TU Delft’s Cessna Citation II laboratory aircraft. The flight test
data originate from maneuvers performed autonomously with a custom-designed experi-
mental fly-by-wire system. The identification of the aerodynamic hinge moment coefficients
will be of special interest, as these hinge moments greatly affect the in-flight performance
of the flight control system. First, the elevator and aileron flight control system models
will be presented, introducing the main parameters that need to be determined. Most
of the parameters reflect the mechanical properties and can be obtained through some
cleverly-designed ground tests, which are discussed next. The hinge moment coefficients
can only be determined through flight tests. The paper continues with a description of the
optimal input signals used to generate flight data for the parameter estimation procedure.
The flight test setup will be introduced briefly, after which the results of the hinge moment
coefficient parameter estimation are summarized. Finally, the validity of the resulting flight
control system models for elevator and aileron are shown.
I. Introduction
Currently, the Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering is performing research
to develop a method to objectively and quantifiably assess the fidelity of flight simulators by taking a
cybernetic approach.1–4 This approach entails the identification of pilot control behavior in real flight and
in the simulator. By modeling the differences in control behavior, an objective measure for simulator fidelity
can be determined. The project employs two facilities, the Cessna Citation II laboratory aircraft (Figure 1)
and the SIMONA Research Simulator (SRS).
Recently, for the purpose of this project, a fly-by-wire (FBW) system
was installed into the laboratory aircraft. As this FBW system uses the
existing autopilot of the aircraft, the current flight control system could
remain unaltered.5 With the fly-by-wire system it becomes possible to
control the automatic flight control system with an experimental com-
puter, which can use pilot inputs from a sidestick in the cockpit. The
fly-by-wire computer, however, can also use pre-defined input signals to
fly maneuvers for purposes of system identification.
As found in previous research, the differences in pilot control behavior Figure 1. The Cessna Citation II
for different conditions are often very small.6–9 To isolate the differences laboratory aircraft PH-LAB.
in control behavior caused by a reduced simulator fidelity – caused by
∗ Professor, Control and Simulation Division, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology. Kluyverweg
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American
Copyright © 2009 by Delft University of Technology. Published Institute
by the American of Aeronautics
Institute of Aeronauticsand
and Astronautics
Astronautics, Inc., with permission.
ϕe
column (Ie )
l e1 downspring
bobweight cable 1 cable 2 ls
servo (Jm ) Fds
Fc
l e2
mbw
Fc F1 F1 F2 F2 lδe
lbw δe
θd He
elevator (Je )
the limited simulator motion capabilities, for example – the differences due to errors in the aircraft model
should be minimized. This requires a highly accurate model of the aircraft and the complete control system,
which is currently not available. Previous work conducted includes the determination of some, but not all
parameters. Especially the aerodynamic hinge moment coefficients were not known.10–14
The newly installed fly-by-wire system allows for the use of complex input signals, such as optimal input
signals, for the identification of the control system models. These optimal input signals can be designed such
that the variability and bias in the parameter estimates are minimized.15–20 Furthermore, it has been shown
that computer-generated input signals have certain advantages over pilot-generated input signals, especially
in terms of their repeatability and frequency-content.18, 20, 21
This paper describes the modeling and parameter estimation of the aileron and elevator control system
of the Cessna Citation II laboratory aircraft, using flight test data from maneuvers performed autonomously
with the fly-by-wire system. The identification of the aerodynamic hinge moment coefficients will be of
special interest, as the hinge moments greatly affect the in-flight performance of the control system.
This paper will first describe the elevator and aileron flight control system models, introducing the main
parameters that need to be determined. Most of the parameters reflect the mechanical properties and
can be obtained through some cleverly-designed ground tests, which are discussed next. The hinge moment
coefficients on the other hand, can only be determined through flight tests. The paper continues with a short
description of the optimal input signals used for the identification. The flight test setup will be introduced
briefly, after which the results of the hinge moment coefficient parameter estimation are summarized. Finally,
the validity of the resulting flight control system models for elevator and aileron are shown.
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Cessna 500, which has the same or at least similar yokes. The dimensions of the yokes la1 and la2 are also
known from the Cessna 500. Measurements of the Citation II yokes resulted in the same dimension for la1 ;
la2 could not be measured directly and needed to be calculated from the yoke to control surface ratio.
The cable from the yoke is connected to the ASA, to which also the autopilot servo is connected. The
complete model of the servo is known from Ref 14. The ASA is modeled by an inertia, which is known
for the Citation II from Ref 11. From the ASA two cables lead to the ailerons, which are also modeled by
inertias. The inertia of the ailerons is unknown, as the aileron of the Citation II is larger than the aileron of
the Cessna 500.
Because the aileron surface is <10% larger than the surface of the Cessna 500’s aileron it is expected that
the inertia is only slightly higher than the inertia of the Cessna 500’s aileron, which is known from Ref 11.
Similar to the elevator system, the effects of inertia to the frequency response are minimal up to frequencies
of 10 rad/s.23 The arm of the aileron lδa is unknown and has to be estimated through ground tests.
The most important unknown is the aerodynamic hinge moment Ha :
1 2
Ha = ρV c̄a Sa Cha , (2)
2
where ρ and V are the air-density and speed, and c̄a and Sa the chord and surface area of the aileron, which
are both known.
The unknown parameter Cha is the hinge moment coefficient which needs to be estimated. It depends
on several aircraft states, including the AoA and aileron deflections. The model of the aerodynamic hinge
moments of the ailerons of the Cessna 500 is known from Ref 11, however, the ailerons of both aircraft
are different and therefore the hinge moment model needs to be determined for the Citation II. For the
estimation of the hinge moment coefficients, flight tests are mandatory.
In Table 2 an overview of the unknown aileron system parameters and submodels is given.
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Fc
yoke (Ia )
F1
la2
la1
θASA
δal , Ha Fc
aileron (Ja ) aileron (Ja )
F1
lδa
F2 F3
F2 F3 Fc δar , Ha
Fc
ASA
For the parameter estimation of the unknown components as given in tables 1 and 2 various techniques
will be used. To obtain reliable parameter estimates, it is required to have measurements of the system of
which the parameters need to be estimated.
For the estimation of the aerodynamic hinge moments, measurements during flight are required. But
before these flight tests can take place, it needs to be determined what inputs or flight test maneuvers
are required to excite the aircraft in such a way to get enough ‘information’ of the system. This will also
determine the time required for the flight tests and thus the cost of the campaign. The design of optimal
input signals is briefly discussed in the Section IV.
Then, before the two hinge moment models can be estimated, several parameters of the complete control
system models needed to be determined through ground tests, the results of which are discussed next. After
these ground test estimations the complete mechanical control systems for the elevator and aileron are known.
The only unknown parts of the models that remain are the aerodynamic hinge moments He and Ha .
Before the estimation of the desired aerodynamic hinge moment parameters can start, the obtained flight
test data need to be processed and prepared for the parameter estimation process. The processing of the
flight data can include flight path reconstruction to check the consistency of the data, reduce measurement
noise or estimate unknown states which could not be measured. Flight path reconstruction can also reduce,
or even eliminate measurement errors, like sensor biases or errors due to the location of the sensors. The
data preparation and flight path reconstruction are discussed in Ref 23 and are not included in this paper.
With the mechanical model and the required states from the flight tests known, it is possible to estimate
the hinge moment models for both the elevator and aileron. The estimation process and the hinge moment
coefficient estimation results are described below in Section VI. Finally, the estimated model is compared
with the actual flight data, to verify the accuracy of the estimated nonlinear model in Section VII.
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parameter
estimation
techniques
ground
mechanic
tests estimation
mechanical
model
initial model
final model
estimation
elevator
hinge moment
aerodynamic
input signal flight flightpath
design tests reconstruction
estimation
aileron
hinge moment
stiffness of the elevator cables, also this stiffness was determined as a check of the data presented in Ref 11.
First the control input to control surface ratios were determined to estimate the length of the arm of
the control surfaces lδe and lδa . Next, the Coulomb friction forces for both control systems were estimated.
Finally, the bobweight mass and arm, and the downspring models were estimated.
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δe [deg]
was 1.27·105 , which is close to the found value here.
0
In Figure 6 the measurements and estimated
model are provided, which show an almost perfect
match. In this figure also the effect of the cable -5
stretch is visible, by an offset between the estima-
tion without cable stretch and the measurement at -10
the extreme positions of the elevator.
The aileron ratio was much more difficult to es- -15
timate, as the aileron uses a differential to let the 0 20 40 60 80 100
time [s]
aileron have a larger deflection up than down. This
difference in deflections is to compensate for the ve- Figure 6. Measured and estimated elevator deflection
locity difference at the locations of the ailerons in a during a slow full deflection sweep.
turn. The wing on the inside of the turn will have a lower airspeed an thus the same deflection of the aileron
will induce a lower drag than the outer wing. This difference in drag will induce a yawing motion which is
in the opposite of the intended direction. To compensate for the drag difference, the inner wing, at which
the aileron will deflect up, uses a larger deflection than the outer wing, at which the aileron deflects down.
This difference in deflection is nonlinear, however, and is difficult to estimate.
Hence, applying the same LS method as used for the elevator, yielded very unsatisfactory results. To
obtain a better estimate, the ratio from the travel of the cables in the wing to the aileron was approximated
by a polynomial. A third order polynomial provided a good fit. In the travel of the wings, the cable stretch
was included, using the cable stiffness as provided by Ref 11. Note that for the elevator, the value provided
by this reference was indeed close to the estimated value, therefore it was assumed that the same would be
true for the aileron.
The polynomial for computing the length of the aileron arm was found to be: lδa = 1/(−987s2c − 47.5sc +
12.9), with sc the cable travel in the wings. The polynomial indeed provided an almost perfect fit.23 Note
that for the parameter estimation of the hinge moment coefficients, a linear model is used. As during flight
the aileron deflections are usually small, it is assumed that the aileron arm is constant for small deflection.
Using the same method as for the elevator for a small range of the elevator deflection (-5 till 5 deg), the
aileron arm length lδa was found to be 0.079 m.
B. Coulomb friction
In all mechanical systems, there exists a frictional force. This frictional force counteracts the forces acting
on the system. The most basic friction model can be described by:
F = Fc · sgn(v), (3)
in which:
Fc = µFn , (4)
where µ is the friction coefficient and Fn the normal force exerted on the object. The described friction is
known as the Coulomb friction.
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FASA [N]
20
Fd [N]
0
-20
-100 -40
-60
-80
-150 -100
-10 -5 0 5 10 0 5 10 15
δe [deg] δa [deg]
Figure 7. The applied force to move the elevator and aileron from one position to another and back, the arrow
indicates the Coulomb friction.
In Figure 7a the force provided by the servo to deflect the elevator is plotted, the effect of the Coulomb
friction is clearly visible. The Coulomb friction acting on the servo drum appears to be in the order of 30N
for the elevator. The same can be done for the aileron, which results in Figure 7b. The Coulomb friction
force acting on the lower sector of the ASA was found to be about 40N.
It should be noted that the Coulomb friction is dependent on many variables, such as wear, temperature,
viscosity of lubricants, cable tension, etc., and the estimated values are only an indication of the magnitude.
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amplitude [-]
by a maximum available torque. This ensures that the
mechanical stops will never be reached, as the servos 0
cannot provide enough torque. These torque limita-
tions have to be taken into account. Due to the use 0 5 3211 10 15
of a linear hinge moment model, it is preferred to keep
the deviations in the airspeed as low a possible.
0
Although optimal input signals can basically have
any form, it has been shown in the literature that the
classical 3211 input signal performs often as good as, 0 5 10 15
time ∆ t [s]
and sometimes even better than some of the optimal
input signals.16, 20 Hence, this type of input signal was Figure 8. Time traces of various input signals.
chosen, despite the fact that the FBW control system
allows for the most enhanced input signals.
C. Results of simulations
The signals were used on the control system model in combination with a nonlinear Cessna Citation 500
model to generate simulated flight data.25 To get more realistic data, noise with realistic levels was added
to the simulated flight data. Although the dynamics of the Citation 500 model are slightly different from
those of the Citation II, this is the best available model. The parameters used to calculate the elevator
hinge moment are known, so the performance of the parameter estimation can be determined easily. The
simulated flight data are used for parameter estimation of the hinge moment coefficients using a Maximum
Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method.18, 21
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In the literature, many performance metrics have been proposed and investigated to characterize the
strength of a particular choice of input signal. Essentially, when using the same estimation technique to
estimate the parameters of a dynamic system model, but with varying input or test signals, the accuracy of
the estimation is a measure of the input signal ‘performance’. When the accuracy is high, the test signal is
successful, and vice versa.
Using Matlab simulations, the effects of varying the amplitude and time ∆t of the 3211 input signal have
been analyzed. Table 3 shows the values of the parameter estimates when exciting the simulated aircraft
model with any of the 3211 signals. As can be seen from this table, most of the test signals yield satisfactory
results.
For all these input signals, one of the main metrics for the accuracy of a parameter estimate, the trace
of the Cramér-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB), is shown in Figure 9. Here, it becomes immediately clear that
the best performance is found at a relatively high ∆t. Making the ∆t too high, for example, 3 seconds,
however, results in a decreasing performance. The optimal value for ∆t is found to be somewhere between
1 and 2 seconds. Furthermore, higher amplitudes generally also increase performance, as all the simulations
with a amplitude of 2.5V yield lower values and thus better performance than the simulations with a lower
amplitudes, as could be expected from Ref 16.
An important design criterion in the longitudinal maneuver input design is the airspeed. The longer the
∆t, the larger the airspeed deviations, which in turn may cause problems with the identification of linear
models. Hence, the airspeed deviations should stay as small as possible and are included in the norms as
used to estimate the performance, which is visible in less performance for longer ∆t. Because the model
used is not the model of the actual aircraft, but of a similar aircraft, it is unknown whether the airspeed
deviations are comparable. If the model is not accurate in airspeed, the worst that could happen would be
that the real aircraft will deviate more from its initial airspeed than the model. This worst case should be
included in the choice of the optimal input.
The optimal 3211 input is located somewhere between a ∆t of 1 and 2 seconds and a maximum available
amplitude. With the worst case of the airspeed deviations in mind, it was chosen to use a signal with a ∆t
of 1 second with a maximum amplitude.
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0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 12 13 1415 16 1718
simulation number
Figure 9. Input signal performance given as the trace of the CRLB (see Table 3).
Table 4. Input signal performance of the longitudinal input signals during flight
∆t standard deviation
Chδa Chα Chδ̇ Ch0
a
As the AoA is the most important dynamic aircraft state that affects the hinge moment, the aircraft
should be excited with the purpose to show a high change in AoA. An eigenmode that induces a rapidly
changing AoA is the short period (SP). The expected frequency for the short period is in the order of 2
rad/s,25 which is inside the frequency range of a 3211 input with a ∆t of 1s.
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Airdata boom
alpha and beta vane
Pitot probes
Temperature probe
alpha vane
Autopilot computer
Gyrosyn compass
Aileron synchro Flight director
Magnetometer Air data computer
V. Flight tests
A. TU Delft’s Cessna Citation II instrumentation system
In flight measurements require an instrumentation sys-
tem, such as the Fligh Test Instrumentation System dSPACE computer
(FTIS) as developed and used by the Control & Simu- Vertical gyroscope
lation section of TU Delft. The main FTIS component is
a real time computer based on a dSPACE processor and
data acquisition boards. These data acquisition boards
consist of both digital and analog boards and are con-
nected to all the available onboard sensors. The com-
puter uses two separate main processors, one responsible
for the input/output communication with the sensors and
one for the data processing. Data logging can be done by
the dSPACE computer or an external computer connected
to it.
The dSPACE computer is located in an instrumenta- Figure 10. The instrumentation rack in the back
tion rack in the back of the cabin, see Figure 10. The of the cabin of the Cessna Citation laboratory air-
sensors connected to the dSPACE computer include the craft.
Inertial Navigation System (INS), GPS sensors, air data, avionics and control inputs. The used sensors are
described in detail in Ref 23.
For the model identification and parameter estimation procedure at least the flight parameters as shown
in Table 5 need to be available. Some additional parameters are included, which enable a more accurate
flight path reconstruction, such as the pitch and roll angle.
Figure 11 illustrates the positions of the main aircraft sensors, probes, AoA and SSA vanes, the aileron,
12 of 24
rudder and elevator control surfaces, the synchros, FBW computer, and the FTIS instrumentation rack.
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Che = Chδe δe + Chδ̇e δ̇e + Chα αh∗ + Chα̇ α̇h + Ch∗0 , (6)
with αh the actual AoA of the horizontal tail plane, including the pitch rate induced AoA, which is calculated
by:
lh qc̄
αh∗ = αh + . (7)
c̄ V0
Note that the main influence of the pitch rate on the hinge moment is an induced AoA. This induced AoA
has the same effect as the ‘normal’ AoA, so the parameter Chq is highly coupled with Chα . This coupling
might cause problems with the estimation of these parameters simultaneously.
Different values for the bobweight and downspring were used in the parameter estimation. First the
estimated parameters will be shown for a 1 kg m bobweight with downspring. Then, the estimated parameters
of the model with different bobweights and with and without downspring were compared, see Ref 23
3. Estimated parameters
Parameters were estimated using MLE, with a gradient based Gauss-Newton optimization technique.18, 21
The figures show the estimated values for the different parameters, including the bounds of the standard
deviations as calculated from the Cramér Rao Lower Bound; the 95% confidence intervals are indicated by
the dotted lines.
ESTIMATE OF Chδe The estimated parameter values for Chδe are shown in Figure 13, showing
a clear trend of a more negative parameter with increasing AoA. Due to the coupling between the AoA and
the elevator deflection, the increasing AoA can also be interpreted as a decreasing elevator deflection, see
the elevator trim curve in Figure 14.
A linear fit through the estimated coefficients results in the line, see Figure 13:
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-0.28
-0.30
-0.32
2
[-]
e
-0.34
Chδ
-0.36 0
δe [deg]
-1
-0.38
flight 1
flight 2 -2
-0.40 flight 3
linear fit -3
95% confidence interval
-0.42 -4
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
α [deg] α [deg]
which can be used in the final, nonlinear model, to make the hinge moment coefficient Chδe dependent on
the AoA. Note that the Chδe for the Cessna 500 was found to be -0.33 and constant, that is, independent of
the AoA.11
ESTIMATE OF Chδ̇ The results for the estimation of Chδ̇e are shown in Figure 15. The
e
estimated values show a very clear descending line with an increasing AoA. At higher angles of attack, the
estimated parameter shows more spread, which can be explained by the aircraft becoming more sensitive to
disturbances, such as turbulence. The linear fit through the estimated parameters yields:
The estimated value is significantly larger (in absolute sense) than the value reported for the Cessna 500.11
The ratio of the values found for low and high angles of attack, however, is comparable. The difference might
be caused by the difference in altitude (and thus Mach number), aircraft and model differences.
ESTIMATE OF Chα The results of the estimation of Chα are given in Figure 16. Clearly the
estimations become more negative with increasing AoA. A linear fit is given by:
For the Cessna 500, a value of -0.043 was found, at an AoA of 0 deg. This value is higher (absolute) than
the value as estimated for the Citation II.
ESTIMATE OF Chα̇ The estimation for the Chα̇ provides not a very consistent result, see Fig-
ure 17, as the confidence intervals are rather large. An almost constant parameter value was found:
15 of 24
-0.02
-0.020
-0.03
δ̇
Chα
Ch
-0.025 -0.04
-0.05
-0.030
-0.06
Figure 15. Estimated values for Ch . Figure 16. Estimated values for Chα .
δ̇e
0.005 0.010
0 0.005
0
-0.005
-0.005
Chα̇ [-]
-0.010
Ch0
-0.010
-0.015
-0.015
-0.020
-0.020
flight 1 flight 1
flight 2 flight 2
-0.025 flight 3 -0.025 flight 3
linear fit linear fit
95% confidence interval 95% confidence interval
-0.030 -0.030
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
α [deg] α [deg]
Figure 17. Estimated values for Chα̇ . Figure 18. Estimated values for Ch0 .
maneuvers, it is impossible to estimate the effect of a trim tab deflection using the flight data. Because the
trim position will have an influence on the hinge moment, this is included into the parameter Ch∗0 :
The estimation results of Ch∗0 are presented in Figure 18. It can be seen that the standard deviations as
found from the CRLB are extremely small, which indicates that the parameters can be estimated accurately.
This is not surprising, as most information about this parameter is found in the parts at which no dynamic
behavior is present, such as the time before the input signal is initiated. The estimation of this parameter
is almost not influenced by dynamic effects. Changes in Ch0 have a direct influence on the response of the
model, while the influence of other parameters, for example, Chα , will be scaled (in the case of Chα , by α).
These factors result in a good estimation of the Ch0 . The spread in the parameters is small and thus the
linear fit as described by:
Ch0 = −0.39α + 0.0216, (14)
provides a good estimation of the coefficient.
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1 2 b
Hal = 2 ρVt Sa c̄a (Ch0 − Chα αl + Chδa δal + Chδ̇a δ̇al + Chβ β ),
2Vt
(15)
1 2 b
Har = 2 ρVt Sa c̄a (Ch0 + Chα αr + Chδa δar + Chδ̇a δ̇al + Chβ β )),
2Vt
with αl and αr the angles of attack of the left and right aileron. These angles of attack include the roll rate
induced AoA, and are calculated by:
2ym pb
αl = α − ,
b 2V (16)
2ym pb
αr = α + ,
b 2V
with p the roll rate, ym the position of the aileron in the body fixed reference frame, b the wingspan, and V
the airspeed.
Not only the roll rate, but also the yaw rate will have an influence on the AoA of the ailerons. The yaw
rate will induce a higher airspeed of the aileron on the outside of a turn, while it induces a lower airspeed on
the inner aileron. This was also the reason for the application of a differential aileron deflection, as described
in Section II. Recall that the AoA is defined as:
w
α = arctan , (17)
u
so, if u changes due to the yaw rate, it will influence the AoA. The yaw rates measured during the actual flight
test maneuvers where smaller than 0.1 rad/s. This small yaw rate only induces small airspeed deviations in
the order of 0.5 m/s. Small airspeed deviations like these can safely be neglected for the airspeed range of
the estimation (approximately 80 m/s till 160 m/s true airspeed).
2. Estimated parameters
The estimation of the aileron hinge moments proved to be more difficult than the estimation of the elevator
hinge moments. This is mainly due to low roll rates, which are caused by the limited aileron deflections due
to the limited torque available by the control servos. Manual control inputs allow for larger inputs, however,
no force sensor is currently available in the laboratory aircraft to measure the aileron control forces.
Because of the low roll rates, only relatively small differences in the angles of attack of the ailerons are
available for the parameter estimation. These small AoA variations result in measurements with only a small
amount of information for the estimation of Chα , as will become clear below.
ESTIMATE OF Chδa In Figure 19 the estimation results of Chδa are given. There is a clear
negative linear trend in Chδa for increasing angles of attack. The bounds for the standard deviation are very
small, meaning the parameters can be estimated very accurately. The small standard deviations are not
surprising because the aileron deflection has the biggest influence on the hinge moment.
The general trend of the parameter with respect to the AoA can be described by the following linear
equation:
Chδa = −0.705α − 0.0795. (18)
Comparison of the found trend with the known data from the Cessna 500 as reported in Ref 11, show
much lower values for Chδa , although the descending trend is also present there. Note that the differences
are not unexpected, as the geometry of the wings of both aircraft, and presumably also the ailerons are
different.
ESTIMATE OF Chδ˙ In Figure 20 the estimations for the hinge moment coefficient Chδ˙a are
a
given. Also for this estimation a clear linear decreasing trend is visible:
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-0.008
-0.08
-0.010
-0.10 -0.012
-0.014
[-]
[-]
-0.12
δ̇a
-0.016
a
Chδ
Ch
-0.14
-0.018
-0.16 -0.020
Figure 19. Estimated values for Chδa . Figure 20. Estimated values for Ch .
δ˙a
0.01
0
0.10
-0.01
0.05
Chβ [-]
Chα [-]
-0.02
-0.03
0
-0.04
flight 1 flight 1
flight 2 flight 2
-0.05 flight 3 -0.05 flight 3
linear fit linear fit
95% confidence interval 95% confidence interval
-0.06
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
α [deg] α [deg]
Figure 21. Estimated values for Chα . Figure 22. Estimated values for Chβ .
The 95% confidence interval indicates the estimation is fairly accurate and also the bounds for the standard
deviations show a good accuracy of the linear fit.
Comparing the trends reported in the data from the Cessna 500,11 the same trend is visible, however,
the values are different as expected from the geometry differences.
ESTIMATE OF Chα The estimation of Chα is shown in Figure 21 and reveals a large 95%
confidence interval, indicating that the estimate is not very accurate. This is explained by the low roll rates,
and because the roll rate is the primary source of the hinge moment due to the AoA. Because of this, it
will be very difficult to obtain an accurate estimation of Chα . The effect of the AoA of the undisturbed air
cancels out between the left and right aileron as it will produce a positive hinge moment on the left aileron,
while it will produce a negative hinge moment on the right aileron. There seems to be a negative linear
trend of the parameter for larger angles of attack:
ESTIMATE OF Chβ In Figure 22 the estimation of Chβ with a linear fit is shown. Because
the accuracy of the estimations is not very good at lower angles of attack, it becomes unclear whether the
parameter could be in fact a constant. As the parameters appear to become constant at higher angles of
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C. Summary
With the main aerodynamic hinge moment coefficients known, the validity of the linear model and the
nonlinear model can be assessed, which will be done in the next section.
B. Aileron model
1. Time traces of the measurements and estimated linear model
In Figure 25 the time traces of the aileron deflection of both the measurement and the estimated linear
model are provided. In these figures, other important states are shown as well.
The estimated aileron deflection shows a small offset in the first and last part of the measurement, at
the time before and after the 3211 input is applied. This offset is due to the Coulomb friction, which is not
included in the model. The Coulomb friction allows a certain control force by the servos without moving
the control surface. Therefore, if the servo produces a small force, the linear model will produce a small
deflection, while in reality the control force is countered by the Coulomb friction leaving the control surface
in its initial position.
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0.5
δe [deg]
0
-0.5
Measurement
Estimated model
-1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
time [s]
Md [Nm] 5
-5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5 5
α̇ [deg/s]
α
α [deg]
0 α∗
h 0
-5 -5
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
0.1 4
q [rad/s]
θ [deg]
2
0
0
-0.1 -2
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
0.5 130
Vtas [m/s]
∆N [g]
129
0
128
-0.5 127
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
time [s] time [s]
Figure 23. Time traces of the measured and estimated elevator deflection, and other important states.
2
δe [deg]
-2 real flight
nonlinear model
linear model
-4
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
time [s]
200
Fe [N]
0
-200
-400
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
2 6
α [deg]
4
N [g]
1 2
0
0 -2
-4
0 50 100 150 0 50 100 150
150
Vtas [m/s]
50
θ [deg]
100 0
-50
50
0 50 100 150 0 50 100 150
5
altitude [m]
δ)te [deg]
3500
3000 4.5
2500
4
0 50 100 150 0 50 100 150
time [s] time [s]
Figure 24. Time traces of the measured and estimated elevator deflection, and other important states for
parabolic flight.
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δa [deg]
0
-2
-4
-6
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
time [s]
MASA [Nm] 50
-50
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
10 0.1
r [rad/s]
left
α [deg]
9 right
0
8
7 -0.1
0 5 10 15 0 5 10 15
5 0.5
p [rad/s]
β [deg]
0 0
-5 -0.5
0 5 10 15 0 5 10 15
79.5 20
Vtas [m/s]
φ [deg]
79
0
78.5
78 -20
0 5 10 15 0 5 10 15
time [s] time [s]
Figure 25. The time trace of the measured aileron deflection and the estimated deflection.
Some oscillations are visible in the estimated response of the aileron, which is caused by the measurement
noise of the current, from which the servo torque was calculated. Next to these anomalies, the response of
the estimated linear model shows a good fit with the measurement.
As already mentioned, due to the low roll rates, the variations in the angles of attack for the left and
right aileron show only very small changes. These changes are, as can be seen in Figure 25, in the order of
one degree. The yaw rate r shows very small variations, supporting the assumption made by excluding the
yaw rate from the AoA calculations of both ailerons.
From Figure 25 it becomes also clear that at a higher airspeed, the SSA shows lower variations, which
explains the less accurate estimation of Chβ at smaller angles of attack, see Figure 22.
Clearly the deviations of the airspeed are very small, which is important, as in the linear model as used
for the parameter estimation the airspeed is constant.
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δa [deg]
-2
simulated
measured
-4
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
time [s]
20
motor torque [Nm]
-20
-40
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
time [s]
Figure 26. Comparison of the measured and simulated time traces of the aileron deflection and motor torque,
using the nonlinear model (simulation 1).
0
δa [deg]
-2
simulated
measured
-4
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
time [s]
20
motor torque [Nm]
-20
-40
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
time [s]
Figure 27. Comparison of the measured and simulated time traces of the aileron deflection and motor torque,
using the non-linear model (simulation 2).
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IX. Conclusions
The aileron and elevator flight control system of TU Delft’s Cessna Citation II laboratory aircraft have
been modeled and its parameters identified. The flight test data were obtained in maneuvers that were
performed completely autonomously, with a novel experimental fly-by-wire system. Most of the unknown
model parameters reflected the mechanical properties and could be computed through a number of special
ground tests. The hinge moment coefficients were determined using flight test data, and it was found that
most of them could be identified with a satisfactory accuracy. Comparing time traces of the flight control
system models with measurements obtained in real-flight show that the nonlinear flight control system models
are indeed capable of describing the actual flight control system. The only nonlinearities that could not be
identified satisfactorily, were the Coulomb friction forces. The resulting nonlinear model of the flight control
system can be used in our cybernetic approach to identify multimodal pilot control behavior in real flight,
the ultimate purpose of our project.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all the members of the Flight Department of the Delft University of
Technology Faculty of Aerospace Engineering who participated in preparing the in-flight experiments. We
would also express our gratitude to the pilots who participated in the experiment.
This project was supported by the Technology Foundation STW, the applied science division of NWO,
and the technology program of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
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