Flight Dynamics • Controls • Simulation
A full-stack fixed-wing UAV simulator built in Python to model aircraft dynamics, aerodynamics, wind effects, autopilot control, sensor noise, and state estimation for small-scale autonomous flight.
This simulator was built incrementally across several labs, each adding a new layer of physical fidelity to the aircraft model. The final system integrates 6-DOF rigid-body dynamics, aerodynamic force and moment modeling, Dryden wind gust simulation, PID-based autopilot control, realistic sensor noise models, and complementary-filter state estimation.
Initial rigid-body aircraft dynamics simulation implementing translational and rotational motion propagation for a fixed-wing UAV.
Added aerodynamic lift, drag, gravity, propeller thrust, and control surface force models.
Integration of Dryden wind gust modeling and airspeed perturbation effects for realistic environmental disturbances.
Successive-loop autopilot implementation using PI, PD, and PID controllers for course, altitude, and airspeed tracking.
Realistic IMU, GPS, pressure, and magnetometer sensor noise models added to the simulation pipeline.
Complementary filter-based state estimation fusing accelerometer, gyroscope, and GPS measurements to recover aircraft state under noisy conditions.