Anthony Comer- PhD Aerospace Engineering
- Assistant Professor at University of South Alabama
Anthony Comer
- PhD Aerospace Engineering
- Assistant Professor at University of South Alabama
Assistant professor working in control system development, flight simulation, and flight testing of aerial vehicles.
About
21
Publications
7,063
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120
Citations
Introduction
The S2FAR laboratory performs research involving the rapid development of subscale unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). As the name suggests, the lab specializes in taking a vehicle concept and going from simulation to flight. Subscale UAVs can be used for a multitude of purposes, including flight control law development, guidance and navigation, aerodynamic validation, atmospheric measurements, swarm technology, and aero-propulsive interaction testing. Full-scale vehicle concepts can also make use of subscale vehicles as Risk Reduction Test Vehicles (RRTVs). S2FAR works with multi-rotor, fixed-wing, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), and helicopter vehicles.
Current institution
Additional affiliations
May 2020 - December 2024
Publications
Publications (21)
This study presents an attainable moment subset-based approach to integrate flight dynamics and control requirements in the conceptual design of a multi-tiltrotor urban air mobility vehicle featuring turbo-electric propulsion system architecture. The goal of this work is to ensure that the control effectors are sufficiently sized to meet the maneuv...
This paper presents the extension of the Trajectory Control System, originally developed for full-envelope flight control, to encompass Conventional Takeoff and Landing and Short Takeoff and Landing capabilities. The Trajectory Control System incorporates the best aspects of the Total Energy Control System, originally developed for conventional fix...
The complex vertical takeoff and landing configurations currently under development necessitate flight control system design that enables substantial reductions of pilot workload through Simplified Vehicle Operations. This paper shows optimization and simulation of such a flight control system architecture for a subscale vectored thrust aircraft co...
To enable the Simplified Vehicle Operations paradigm for the upcoming urban/advanced air mobility vertical takeoff and landing concepts, their flight control system architectures must be designed to provide largely standardized control responses to pilot inceptor inputs. This paper demonstrates such a flight control system for three dissimilar vehi...
This paper describes the flight test validation of a Trajectory Control System on a subscale lift-plus-cruise vertical takeoff and landing urban air mobility aircraft concept. The aircraft was sized using the Parametric Energy-based Aircraft Configuration Evaluator framework. A simulation model was developed using the Modular Aircraft Dynamics and...
The ongoing development of numerous novel vertical takeoff and landing configurations necessitates flight control system design that enables the Simplified Vehicle Operations paradigm. This paper shows flight test results for one subscale lift-plus-cruise and one tilt-wing configuration employing such a flight control system architecture. Pilot inc...
The complex vertical takeoff and landing configurations currently under development necessitate flight control system design that enables substantial reductions of pilot workload through Simplified Vehicle Operations. This paper shows optimization and simulation of such a flight control system architecture for a subscale vectored thrust aircraft co...
This paper presents a methodology for optimizing a Total Energy–based control system architecture for a lift-plus-cruise vertical takeoff and landing urban air mobility concept. The Total Energy Control System algorithm, which was originally developed for fixed-wing applications, is extended to also be applicable to hovering and transitioning fligh...
Novel vertical take-off and landing advanced air mobility aircraft which are overactuated and transition between vertical and forward flight modes pose unique challenges for the design of safe and robust full-envelope fly-by-wire flight control systems. This paper presents a methodology for designing and optimizing a control system architecture for...
This work investigates the simplified vehicle operations paradigm, which seeks significant reductions in pilot workload and training requirements through the holistic design of flight control laws, control inceptors, and cockpit displays in the context of vertical takeoff and landing urban air mobility aircraft using piloted flight simulations. Two...
This paper describes the application of a research and development pipeline at the Vehicle Systems, Dynamics, and Design Laboratory to the design, fabrication, and flight testing of a subscale lift-plus-cruise vertical takeoff and landing urban air mobility aircraft concept. The aircraft was sized using the Parametric Energy-based Aircraft Configur...
It is imperative that safe and robust flight control system architectures are employed for the novel vertical takeoff and landing urban air mobility concepts currently in various stages
of development. Unique challenges stem from the over-actuated nature of these vehicles and the fact that they transition between vertical and forward modes of fligh...
The safety trends in General Aviation flight operations, despite recent improvements, continue to lag behind those of Commercial Aviation. The age and diversity of the General Aviation fleet as well as the varying experience and proficiency levels of the pilot population contribute to the safety challenge. Given the ubiquitous nature of General Avi...
