Long-range energy-state maneuvers for minimum time to specified terminal conditions

Abstract

Some three-dimensional minimum-time paths to a specified final line (or point), heading, and energy are presented for an example supersonic aircraft. The optimum maneuvers have been determined using the calculus of variations and the energy-state approximation. These are compared with suboptimal solutions obtained with the additional assumption that only three discrete values of bank angle (−φ max , 0, +φ max ) are available. Constraints on thrust, Mach number, angle-of-attack, dynamic pressure, and load factor are included. For ranges long enough that maximum velocity is attained en route, the initial and final ares can be determined separately, which greatly simplifies the solutions.