Flight tables can add unwanted dynamics with increased phase lag and gain attenuation to the Hardware-In-The-Loop
(HWIL) simulation. By making flight tables "invisible" we reduce the effects of these unwanted dynamics on the
simulation giving the simulation engineer a much clearer picture of the test unit's capabilities. Past methods[1] relied on
clever servo techniques to reduce these effects. In this paper we look at the mechanical aspects of the flight table; in
particular, we study the effects of using composite materials in the fabrication of the flight table gimbals. The study
shows that the use of composite gimbals significantly increases the invisibility of the flight table with the potential added
benefit of reduced cost.
This paper presents the construction of the overall orientation error model based on the measurable table errors of axis wobble, axes non-orthogonality, axes intersection and axis encoding. With this model, the HWIL simulation engineer may, in the future, be able to calibrate and/or set requirements for the missile and target five-axis motion simulator to reduce the effect of the static orientation error on the simulation.
Flight tables are a 'necessary evil' in the Hardware-In-The- Loop (HWIL) simulation. Adding the actual or prototypic flight hardware to the loop, in order to increase the realism of the simulation, forces us to add motion simulation to the process. Flight table motion bases bring unwanted dynamics, non- linearities, transport delays, etc to an already difficult problem sometimes requiring the simulation engineer to compromise the results. We desire that the flight tables be 'dynamically transparent' to the simulation scenario. This paper presents a State Variable Feedback (SVF) control system architecture with feed-forward techniques that improves the flight table's dynamic transparency by significantly reducing the table's low frequency phase lag. We offer some actual results with existing flight tables that demonstrate the improved transparency. These results come from a demonstration conducted on a flight table in the KHILS laboratory at Eglin AFB and during a refurbishment of a flight table for the Boeing Company of St. Charles, Missouri.
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