A Flight Envelope Determination and Protection System for Fixed-Wing UAVs

Abstract

In this work we present a novel, approximate, efficient algorithm for determining the Trim Flight Envelope of a fixed-wing UAV, based on a generic, nonlinear numerical model. The resulting Flight Envelope is expressed as a convex intersection of half-spaces. Subsequently, a Model Predictive Controller (MPC) is designed which takes into account the Flight Envelope constraints, to avoid Loss-of-Control. The overall system is shown to operate in real-time in a simulation environment.