Tuning a dynamic inversion pitch axis autopilot using McFarlane–Glover loop shaping

Honeywell and others have successfully applied dynamic inversion control to many flight control problems. It is a simple and systematic design procedure that guarantees nominal performance. However, unlike ℋ ∞ methods, it does not provide any robustness guarantees. In this paper, we propose a procedure for designing a linear time‐invariant dynamic inversion autopilot with guaranteed robustness. We will use the generalized stability margin to choose the dynamics that will be inverted ( A and B matrices), and McFarlane–Glover loop shaping to select the C matrix of the inverted plant, the desired dynamics, and a robust state estimator. The proposed procedure is illustrated by designing a pitch axis autopilot that achieves robust performance with a number of Boeing 747 aircraft models. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.