Hardware-in-the-Loop Flight Simulator – An Essential Part in the Development Process for the Automatic Flight Control System of a Utility Aircraft

Abstract

An automatic flight control system (AFCS) is designed for the utility aircraft STEMME S15, a high-performance motor glider. The AFCS shall automatically control the aircraft with high precision during surveillance, reconnaissance and measurement flights. To test the AFCS a ground test facility in form of a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulator was built. The correct integration of the AFCS and its flight control functions into the aircraft are verified by this test system. HIL simulation is part of a cost-effective development process for safety-critical systems that will be established as part of this project. This paper gives an overview of the development process and describes the concept, the functional principle and the design of the HIL simulator. A comparison of flight test and simulation results of the first automatic landing of the S15 is shown, as example for the HIL simulator validation.