PLAV: A Python 6 Degree-of-Freedom Flight Simulator with Real-Time Arduino Hardware in Loop Simulation

Abstract

A 6 Degree-of-Freedom (6DoF) Flight Simulator in Python was made, leveraging open source libraries to build a simulator capable of running in real-time and offline modes. This simulator, named Python Laptop Air Vehicles (PLAV) is capable of piloted control and has a Hardware-In-The-Loop (HITL) proof-of-concept mode implemented with an Arduino-compatible micro controller. The project is open-source and prioritizes simplicity, with the intent that amateur aircraft designers can use it to test their unique designs with their own flight dynamics model and simulate their flight control with HITL simulation.

The simulator has been validated using the NASA Engineering and Safety Center's Check-cases for Verification of Six-Degree-of-Freedom Flight Vehicle Simulations, ensuring that for a good Flight Dynamics Model (FDM) the simulation gives accurate results. The relevance of implementing the a rotating ellipsoidal Earth is also analyzed in amateur contexts such as high power rocketry. The code is published at https://github.com/adinkojic/PLAV