Modelling, Control and Simulation of a Six-DOF Motion Platform for a Flight Simulator

Abstract

This paper encompasses a study on the modelling, design and simulation of a motion platform for a flight simulator. The motion platform has a hexapod configuration with six degrees-of-freedom, designed on a biologically inspired concept. A dynamical model of the proposed motion platform is formulated using the principles of flight simulation and Stewart platform modeling. In the first test case, the proposed dynamical model is evaluated in terms of motion requirements for a Level-C flight simulator through real-time simulations using SimMechanics and xPC Target software. X-Plane (a commercial flight simulator package) is used to provide the flight dynamical model for a Level-C flight simulator. In the second test case, a computed torque-based controller incorporating the proposed dynamical model is tested in both forward and inverse dynamics modes to track the flight dynamics of an aircraft. Finally, the paper draws conclusions about the significance and performance of the proposed system in terms of motion cueing errors.