RANGE OPTIMAL TRAJECTORIES FOR AN AIRCRAFT FLYING IN THE VERTICAL PLANE

Range optimal trajectories for an aircraft flying in the vertical plan e are obtained from Pontryagin's minimum principle. Control variables are the load factor, which appears nonlinearly in the equations of mot ion, and the throttle setting, which appears only linearly. Both contr ols are subject to fixed bounds. Additionally, a dynamic pressure limi t is imposed, which represents a first-order state-inequality constrai nt. For fixed flight time, initial coordinates, and final coordinates of the trajectory, the effect of the load factor limit on the resultin g optimal switching structure is studied. All trajectories involve sin gular control along arcs with active dynamic pressure limit. For large flight times the optimal switching structures have not yet been found .