Deferred-correction optimal control with applications to inverse problems in flight mechanics

We develop a numerical procedure for the inverse simulation of flight, formulated as an optimal-control problem. The resulting method is general and applicable to both fixed and rotating wing vehicles. We use the p version of the finite-element-in-time method, equipped with a deferred-correction acceleration technique for achieving the desired level of accuracy in the response at a low computational cost. We test our numerical procedures with the aid of some representative simulations.