VSTOL FIRST FLIGHT OF AN H-INFINITY CONTROL LAW

An H-infinity control law has been successfully flight tested on the D RA Bedford Harrier. This and subsequent flight tests demonstrated the practicality and power of H-infinity as a design tool for systems with multiple inputs and outputs. The technique has potential both to redu ce design time, and to improve robustness and performance for such sys tems. This article discusses the development of the control law and so me of the challenging implementation issues which had to be addressed in order to bridge the gap between theory and practice.