syllabus
Course outline, timetable, and policies for Fall 2026.
The full course outline is available as a slide deck: Course Outline and Policies.
Who this course is for
The course suits students who want to learn fixed-wing aircraft dynamics and to study flight-specific stability and control, with a focus on advanced, state-space flight-control methods and Simulink-based flight simulation and control design.
AER1202 and AER302
| Content | AER1202 | AER302 |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamics | ✓ | ✓ |
| Performance | ✓ | |
| Stability and control concepts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Classical flight control | ✓ | ✓ |
| Modern flight control | ✓ | |
| Simulation | ✓ |
Approximately 30% of the material overlaps with AER302.
Prerequisites
- AER301 Dynamics (classical Newtonian mechanics), or equivalent
- AER372 Control Systems, or equivalent (self-study; reference handout R3 reviews the essentials)
- AER302 Aircraft Flight, or equivalent (reviewed in the course; about 30% overlap)
- Matrix theory and linear algebra
- MATLAB and Simulink (a dedicated lecture covers Simulink)
MATLAB R2025b or later is required. Either the University of Toronto MATLAB licence or a personal installation may be used. Basic MATLAB programming is assumed; tutorials and documentation are available on the MathWorks website.
Course materials
- Course slide decks and handouts, posted under lectures, tutorials, and readings
- H. H.-T. Liu, Analytical Aircraft Flight (Cambridge University Press eBook, selected chapters)
Grading
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Assignments (including computational programs) | 60% |
| Final individual project | 40% |
Timetable
Lectures run on Wednesdays, 14:00–17:00, in AS158. Assignment handouts are released on Quercus.
| Date | Lecture | Tutorial | Assessments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 16 | Lecture 1 | ||
| Sept. 23 | Lecture 2 | A1 (10%) assigned | |
| Sept. 30 | Lecture 3 | T1 | |
| Oct. 7 | Lecture 4 | A1 due; A2 (15%) assigned | |
| Oct. 14 | Lecture 5 | T2 | |
| Oct. 21 | Lecture 6 | A2 due; A3 (15%) assigned | |
| Oct. 28 | Fall break | ||
| Nov. 4 | Lecture 7 | T3 | Project assigned |
| Nov. 11 | Lecture 8 | A3 due; A4 (20%) assigned | |
| Nov. 18 | Lecture 9 | ||
| Nov. 25 | Lecture 10 | T4 | |
| Dec. 2 | Lecture 11 | A4 due | |
| Dec. 9 | Project Q&A | ||
| Dec. 16 | Project due (tentative) |
Assignment policy
Deadlines and late submissions. All assignments are due at 23:59 on the designated date. Each student has one late-submission allowance during the course. When the allowance is used, the assignment grade is multiplied by a late coefficient. Once the allowance has been used, later late assignments are not accepted and receive a grade of 0. Documented exceptional circumstances are handled separately and do not use the allowance.
Late submissions are accepted for at most 24 hours after the deadline. The coefficient decreases linearly from 1 (on time) to 0 (24 hours late):
\[c(t) = \max\!\left(1 - \frac{t}{24},\ 0\right), \qquad t = \text{hours late}\]| Hours late, \(t\) | 0 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| \(c(t)\) | 1.00 | 0.75 | 0.50 | 0.25 | 0.00 |
Submissions more than 24 hours late receive a grade of 0, the same as a missed deadline.
Generative AI. Follow the University of Toronto’s official guidelines on the use of generative AI in coursework. Any use of generative AI in an assignment must be disclosed in the submission, including the tool used and a brief description of how it was used.
Exceptional circumstances. If documented exceptional circumstances (for example, a medical or family emergency) prevent a deadline from being met, contact the instructor and your graduate unit as soon as possible. Formal extensions are governed by School of Graduate Studies (SGS) and graduate-unit procedures.
Project policy
- The project deadline is tentatively December 16, 2026. The final deadline will be announced separately; once confirmed, it is a hard deadline, and reports submitted after it are not accepted.
- The project is individual; no collaboration is allowed.
- The generative AI policy above applies to the project, including the disclosure requirement.
Communication
Office hours are arranged on request by email. Quercus is the preferred channel for course communication.