Research on a New Aircraft Point-Mass Model

Up to now in the field of aeronautics, point-mass models have been widely employed for missiles and aircraft. In the case of missiles, there have been no problems; however, in solving aircraft optimal control problems (in particular, under windy conditions), the authors could not find a reliable model in the existing point-mass models. Therefore, a new aircraft point-mass model has been developed in the authors' laboratory. This model employs angle of attack, sideslip angle, bank angle, and thrust as four control variables. The existing models cannot precisely introduce the effect of natural winds or active sideslip-angle control, while this new model can introduce them with precision. This model was applied to a YF-16 aircraft, and the precision was investigated by comparing the results with that of the rigid-body model. The comparisons of step responses and simulations for typical maneuvers showed the precision and the reliability of this model.