Flight simulation using MATLAB and Simulink

Abstract

Flight simulation is an important tool both for aircrew training and for engineering work on aircraft performance and procedures. In the first part of this work, the physics behind flight simulation as well as the many conventions used by the industry are presented and discussed. The understanding so gained was used to construct simple models using MATLAB® and Simulink®. Both a 3-degree of freedom model (in the longitudinal plane) and a full 6-degree of freedom model were constructed. The models were not complete in that many aspects of aircraft operation (e.g. flaps, landing gear and ground handling) were not incorporated, but sufficed to demonstrate the primary stability characteristics of an aircraft in flight. Particular emphasis was placed on understanding and documenting the built-in functions provided by the Simulink Aerospace Blockset which greatly simplified the construction of an aircraft model.