Optimization of Flight Control System and Handling Quality Evaluation of a Limited Authority Helicopter

Flight control system, which is being designed for a limited authority helicopter, is optimized to achieve predicted Level 1 Handling Quality (HQ) of the Aeronautical Design Standard (ADS)-33E-PRF for hover and low speed quantitative criteria. The evaluations are based on high fidelity linear models and Nonlinear Math Model (NLMM), constructed in FLIGHTLAB® and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Indigenous Rotorcraft Simulation (TIRS). Control system design parameters are optimized via Control Designer's Unified Interface (CONDUIT®) for linearized model. HQ assessment in NLMM has been repeated with the optimized control system design parameters to evaluate whether the design meets Level 1 HQ or not. The main goal of this paper is to perform optimization for the control system design parameters by using math models during preliminary design process.