Proceedings Article | 10 May 2007
KEYWORDS: Mathematical modeling, Aerodynamics, Motion models, Computer simulations, Kinematics, 3D modeling, Data modeling, Differential equations, Systems modeling, Performance modeling
As part of the development of any computer simulation of procedures, equipment, or airspace, an appropriate model of
aircraft must be selected. Due to the complexity and aviation safety-critical nature of these development efforts, a
detailed survey of the current state-of-the-art in aircraft flight dynamic models is desired. Options include basic 3-D
performance envelopes of various aircraft (e.g., acceleration, deceleration, turn rate, and climb rate), high-fidelity models
(e.g., proprietary aircraft manufacturer models), commercial-off-the-shelf models (e.g., Laminar Research's X-Plane and
Microsoft's Flight Simulator), Government models (e.g., NASA or FAA), and originally developed six degree-of-freedom
mathematical models. Here, the simple kinematics model (using basic kinematic relationships without
considering the impact of aerodynamics), the small perturbation theory model (which uses only the known, non-dimensional
aerodynamic properties of the aircraft), the total forces and moments method (which solves the complete set
of nonlinear differential equations and requiring large tables describing aircraft parameters in different flight regimes),
and blade element theory (which makes use of the aircraft's physical structure to calculate the aerodynamic forces and
moments on thin strips of the aircraft) are reviewed.
