Continued Development of a Multi-Purpose Engineering Flight Simulator

摘要

Over the past ten years, the author has been developing a C/C++ simulation and flight software architecture capable of being used for a variety of purposes. The simulation/software system described in this paper is designed to: serve as a modeling tool for vehicle flight and system dynamics; operate in real-time or non-real-time (accelerated) modes; perform Monte Carlo analyses of uncertainties; operate with or without hardware in the loop; be an integral part of vehicle flight software algorithm design, testing, and validation; and serve as the basis for operator training (for example, in the case of a UAV or launch vehicle ground crew). The primary focus of this paper is to provide an update on the progress made with this software since it was first presented in 2011. The improvements made include: an Ethernet interface for communication; an external graphical user interface; a port of the software to Linux; enhancements to real-time operation; new operating modes of the software; the capability to induce malfunctions in a simulation; and the extraction of linearized system (state space) models at different points during a flight. Demonstrations of these new capabilities are provided. Development of the simulation/software is ongoing.