GPS-free roll and pitch estimation through pressure altitude aided inertial navigation system for a jet aircraft

This paper presents a novel approach for estimating roll and pitch angles of an aircraft by regulating the dead-reckoning drift using pressure altitude measurements. The proposed algorithm uses measurements from rate gyroscopes, pressure altitude, and an air data system to estimate the roll and pitch angles of an aircraft. This unique combination of sensor data offers a new alternative to traditional navigation approaches relying on accelerometers and satellite systems to estimate the aircraft attitude. Multiple flight data sets from a high-speed crewed US Navy T-38 jet are used to validate the proposed approach. Comparable levels of attitude estimation accuracy are reported thus demonstrating that the proposed algorithm is a viable alternative for attitude estimation purposes. Therefore, this approach can be used to improve the robustness and accuracy of attitude estimation algorithms in scenarios where GPS coverage is denied, unreliable, spoofed and/or jammed.