Adaptive feedforward control for crosswind landing with variable step size

Abstract

In this article, a modified Steiglitz–McBride (SM) structure with variable step size is proposed for aircraft feedforward control to reduce lateral landing deviation in the presence of crosswind disturbance. Currently, most of the aircraft landing studies focus on the trajectory tracking problems in the longitudinal plane and seldom focus on lateral disturbances. This article develops a modified SM structure–based feedforward control system to online estimate both the primary path and the control path (secondary path), where a fuzzy logic–based variable step size strategy is implemented to ensure fast convergence rate and strong robustness under complex crosswind scenarios. As a consequence, the lateral deviation during crosswind landing could be largely reduced as fast as possible while the stability of the flight control system is maintained. A Boeing 747 model is used as a test bed, and the simulations are carried out on two different crosswind conditions to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.