[Jsbsim-matlab] S-Function Progress

[b m. <bri...@in...>]

The S-Function is coming along nicely. I'm getting more and more data out of JSBSim and into the Matlab workspace. As there is so much data that can be made available, I think that I may have two versions of the S-Function- one for flight control design and flight-testing and one for systems design. The "aero" version is the current version and has basic flight control inputs and outputs aerodynamic and propulsion data. The "systems" version will be built up to have many more inputs and outputs. The goal here is to create the ability to create systems models using Matlab/Simulink and test them in that environment. For example, an APU could be modeled and tested within Matlab and then compiled using RTW into C-code or some other code. The resulting file could be added into the AC folder and run with FlightGear. However, I'm not sure at this point how to interface these RTW generated modules with Flightgear. That will be something to tackle later...  

As it stands now, the S-Function outputs 19 states, 12 propulsion properties for up to 4 engines, 8 flight control outputs and and 6 calculated outputs. A trim/linearization routine that generates de-coupled state-space matrices is probably what I will start on next.

Once the S-Function is sufficiently developed I will be posting it on the Mathworks website to get it into the right hands. Hopefully at some point its use will create some positive benefits for the FlightGear community ie more users, more interest, better FDMs etc.