Development of Formation Flight Control Algorithms Using 3 YF-22 Flying Models

The main objective of this project was to provide a flight demonstration of formation control using UAV research aircraft models. This document will describe the efforts leading to the design, construction, and flight testing of formation control laws using three YF-22 research UAVs designed, built, and instrumented at West Virginia University (WVU). In the selected formation configuration, a radio control (R/C) pilot maintains ground control of the 'leader' aircraft while two autonomous 'follower' aircraft are required to maintain a pre-defined position and orientation with respect to the 'leader' aircraft. The report is organized as follows. First, a description of the aircraft test-bed construction and on-board payload systems will be provided. The following sections will describe the overall design of the formation control laws. Specifically, this design was based on a set of inner and outer loop control laws using a NLDI (non Linear Dynamic Inversion) approach. The implementation of the controller design featured a mathematical model obtained directly from flight data through a PID (Parameter Identification) study. Additional sections will provide a description of the on-board flight control software and simulation work prior to the flight testing activities. A final section will describe the results from an extensive flight testing program. The flight testing activities were articulated in several flight testing of 2-aircraft and 3-aircraft formations.