Two-time-scale robust output feedback control for aircraft longitudinal dynamics via sliding mode control and high-gain observer

This paper presents output feedback control for longitudinal dynamics of fixed-wing aircraft using singular perturbation techniques. The longitudinal dynamic model is separated into two timescales. A composite feedback control law based on sliding mode control (SMC) is designed for slow and fast subsystems to track the aerodynamic velocity and flight path angle references. Additionally, two separate high-gain observers (HGO) are designed for the slow and fast subsystems to estimate system states. The proposed technique not only simplifies the design but also is computationally efficient. Simulations are performed in MATLAB/Simulink environment with results demonstrating that the proposed output feedback control method robustly achieves trajectory tracking.