H-infinity in flight

This paper is about the flight testing of an H-infinity-controlled helicopt er, the Bell 205 Airborne Simulator, carried out in Ottawa in July 1997. Th e tests are part of a major research activity between the University of Lei cester (supported by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Coun cil), the UK Defense and Evaluation Research Agency (Bedford), the Canadian NRC Flight Research Laboratory (Ottawa), and GKN Westland Helicopters. Thi s is thought to be the first time that an H-infinity controller has been us ed on a helicopter in flight.