AUTOMATIC TAKE-OFF AND LANDING OF A VERY LIGHT ALL ELECTRIC OPTIONALLY PILOTED AIRCRAFT

This paper describes the development, testing and demonstration of an automatic take-off and landing (ATOL) system for a very light all-electric optionally-piloted aircraft. The presented system allows to automatically control the aircraft during approach, flare and take-off flight phases. The ATOL system utilizes the existing automatic flight control system (AFCS) of the demonstrator aircraft and provides additional mode logics, autopilot controller commands and state limits as well as additional functions specific for automatic take-off and landing. The landing is performed by the aircraft following a pre-defined landing trajectory and vertical speed control during the flare. To account for crosswind conditions, a decrab maneuver is conducted prior to touch down. The take-off is conducted based on a pre-defined sequence for acceleration during take-off run, rotation and initial climb segments. Functional algorithms were designed and tested using software and aircraft-in-the-loop simulations, respectively. The functions required for ATOL such as the flare or pitch control modes were initially flight tested in a safe altitude. Simulation results as well as real flight test data is shown for an automatic take-off and landing of the demonstrator aircraft.