Overview
In this unit you will learn advanced concepts of control systems engineering and their applications in avionics. You will be introduced to conceptual design of analog and digital control systems. You will investigate and validate different sensor types and their applicability in aircraft control systems. You will learn how to analyse aircraft control systems and represent them using standard control systems building blocks. You will also learn and practice to simulate aircraft control systems using industry standard software to validate the control concepts implemented.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisites: Essential Mathematics for Control Systems AND Automatic Flight Control and Communication Systems
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
- Explain the building blocks of aircraft control systems
- Analyse the function of sensors in an aircraft control system
- Examine analog and digital controller designs of dynamic controller systems
- Model and analyse the behaviour of dynamic systems and controllers using appropriate mathematical, graphical and computer-aided tools
- Model and analyse different aircraft control systems using simulation software
- Work collaboratively and autonomously and communicate professionally in presenting your solutions.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||
| 3 - Practical and Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||
| 4 - Take Home Exam - 40% | ||||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Practical and Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||||
| 4 - Take Home Exam - 40% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Access to a computer with Windows 10 with authority to install software required for the unit
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
d.moratuwage@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction to Aircraft Control Systems
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Fundamentals of Dynamic Systems and Feedback
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Sensors and Actuators in Aircraft Systems
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Mathematical Modeling of Aircraft Dynamics
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Analog Control System Design
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Digital Control System Design
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Aircraft Control System Architectures
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Modeling and Simulation using MATLAB/Simulink
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Case Study: Control Design for Aircraft Pitch, Roll, and Yaw
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Advanced Topics: Adaptive and Robust Control in Aircraft
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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1 Written Assessment
This assessment evaluates your understanding of the fundamental building blocks of aircraft control systems. You will be required to analyze a given aircraft control scenario, identify key control elements, and provide a detailed conceptual explanation of how different components (e.g., actuators, sensors, controllers) interact within the loop.
AI ASSESSMENT SCALE - AI COLLABORATION
You may use Al to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You must critically evaluate and modify any AI-generated content you use.
Week 4 Friday (8 Aug 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
- Clarity and completeness of system identification.
- Accuracy in explaining roles of control system components.
- Use of block diagrams/flow charts to graphically represent and describe systems, and use of control theory terminology.
- Professional presentation and technical writing quality.
- Explain the building blocks of aircraft control systems
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
2 Written Assessment
This task will assess your knowledge about sensors and controller design in dynamic aircraft systems. You will be given control scenarios involving sensor data, dynamic plant characteristics, and design constraints. You are expected to:
- Analyse sensor functionality and limitations.
- Design analog/digital controllers to meet system requirements.
- Simulate basic response curves using MATLAB/Simulink or equivalent.
AI ASSESSMENT SCALE - AI COLLABORATION
You may use Al to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You must critically evaluate and modify any AI-generated content you use.
Week 7 Friday (5 Sept 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
- Explanation and analysis of sensor types and applications.
- Design and justification of analog/digital control systems.
- Correct use of mathematical tools and simulation output.
- Quality of documentation and technical presentation.
- Analyse the function of sensors in an aircraft control system
- Examine analog and digital controller designs of dynamic controller systems
- Model and analyse the behaviour of dynamic systems and controllers using appropriate mathematical, graphical and computer-aided tools
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Technology Competence
3 Practical and Written Assessment
This practical task involves modelling and simulating a representative aircraft control system. Students will:
- Choose a control problem (e.g., pitch/yaw/roll dynamics),
- Model the system in simulation software (e.g., MATLAB/Simulink).
- Validate sensor-controller interactions.
- Present results in a technical report with annotated simulation outputs.
AI ASSESSMENT SCALE - AI COLLABORATION
You may use Al to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You must critically evaluate and modify any AI-generated content you use.
Week 9 Friday (19 Sept 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
- Accuracy of control system modeling and assumptions.
- Implementation of simulation including sensors and controllers.
- Interpretation and discussion of simulation results.
- Report structure, clarity, and technical documentation.
- Analyse the function of sensors in an aircraft control system
- Model and analyse the behaviour of dynamic systems and controllers using appropriate mathematical, graphical and computer-aided tools
- Model and analyse different aircraft control systems using simulation software
- Work collaboratively and autonomously and communicate professionally in presenting your solutions.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
4 Take Home Exam
This take-home exam will test your comprehensive understanding of aircraft control system theory, controller design, and simulation interpretation. Questions will include:
- Conceptual problems on control loop analysis.
- Calculation-based controller design tasks.
- System response analysis from simulated outputs.
AI ASSESSMENT SCALE - AI COLLABORATION
You may use Al to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You must critically evaluate and modify any AI-generated content you use.
Review/Exam Week Friday (17 Oct 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
Correctness and clarity in problem-solving.
Demonstrated understanding of dynamic control concepts.
Application of controller design methods.
Professional formatting and clear explanation.
- Explain the building blocks of aircraft control systems
- Examine analog and digital controller designs of dynamic controller systems
- Model and analyse different aircraft control systems using simulation software
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Technology Competence
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
