Fly-By-Wire Flight Mode Logic
Real-time C++ flight-control firmware: TECS energy management on a hardened PID core running the aircraft's loops.
The flight-mode control logic for WARG's fixed-wing aircraft: the firmware that turns pilot and autopilot intent into stable, real-time actuator commands.
- Developed a Fly-By-Wire control system in C++ managing the aircraft's real-time flight-control loops.
- Implemented TECS (Total Energy Control System) firmware for coordinated speed/altitude control.
- Wrote a custom PID controller with integral anti-windup and derivative low-pass filtering for stability.
01The system
A Fly-By-Wire architecture: the flight controller sits between intent and the control surfaces, running control loops in real time rather than through a direct mechanical linkage.
02TECS + PID
TECS coordinates throttle and pitch to manage the aircraft's total energy: speed and altitude together. Underneath, a custom PID core with integral anti-windup and derivative low-pass filtering keeps the loops stable and noise-tolerant.
03Why it matters
Stable control loops are what keep the aircraft flyable, so this code has to be reliable.
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