Date

6-2010

Degree Name

BS in Aerospace Engineering

Department

Aerospace Engineering Department

Advisor(s)

Eric Mehiel

Abstract

An autonomous controller for the Cal Poly Motion Flight Simulator was developed such that the simulated Van’s RV-7 flies a standard light aircraft traffic pattern without any human pilot input. First, an autopilot was developed in Simulink to control the aircraft’s altitude, airspeed, and heading independent of each other. The performance of the autopilot has been tested to perform with a response sufficient for precise navigation. A C++ s- function was written as a mission controller that followed a pre-programmed path around a known airport. The aircraft performs a standard left 45 degree entry into the traffic pattern, lands on the runway, and either choose to stop or perform a touch-and-go based on the pre-programmed command.