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The development of a toolset, SIMPLI-FLYD ('SIMPLIfied FLight dynamics for conceptual Design') is described. SIMPLI-FLYD is a collection of tools that perform flight dynamics and control modeling and analysis of rotorcraft conceptual designs including a capability to evaluate the designs in an X-Plane-based real-time simulation. The establishment of this framework is now facilitating the exploration of this new capability, in terms of modeling fidelity and data requirements, and the investigation of which stability and control and handling qualities requirements are appropriate for conceptual design. Illustrative design variation studies for single main rotor and tiltrotor vehicle configurations show sensitivity of the stability and control characteristics and an approach to highlight potential weight savings by identifying over-design.

A high order rotorcraft mathematical model is developed and validated against the XV-15 and a Large Civil Tiltrotor (LCTR) concept. Separate modeling of each rotorcraft component in a multi-body like formulation allows for structural flexibility to be included, which is important when modeling large aircraft where structural modes affect the flight dynamics frequency ranges of interest. Details of the formulation of the mathematical model are given, including derivations of structural, aerodynamic, and inertial loads. Flexibility effects are evaluated by looking at the nature of the couplings between rigid-body modes and wing structural modes and vice versa. A proportional-integral feedback on the structural acceleration is used to improve damping and reduce the overall excitation of a structural mode. A model following control architecture is then implemented on full order flexible LCTR models. The impact of structural feedback investigated. A rigid aircraft model has optimistic performance characteristics, and a control system designed for a rigid aircraft could potentially destabilize a flexible one. The various control systems are flown in a fixed-base simulator. Pilot inputs and aircraft performance are recorded and analyzed.