Trajectory Optimization Strategies for the Simulation of the ADS-33 Mission Task Elements

This paper is concerned with the formulation of ADS-33 Mission Task Elements (MTEs) as trajectory optimization problems, and describes efficient numerical solution procedures for this class of problems. MTEs are maneuvers specifically designed to quantify the Handling Qualities of rotorcraft vehicles. Here we show that MTEs, being characterized by a mission target which must be accomplished while satisfying a set of constraints, can be readily described in a precise mathematical sense by defining equivalent constrained optimal control problems, whose solution yields the best possible performance of a given helicopter in performing a given MTE. The capabilities of the proposed methodology are demonstrated with the help of representative numerical simulations.