Patent ID: 8763955

Claim:
A method of controlling a refueling drogue comprising: receiving a respective error for at least one state associated with a hose including at least one of a hose elevation rate, a hose azimuth rate or a combination thereof and a respective error for at least one state associated with the drogue including at least one of a drogue pitch rate, a drogue yaw rate, a drogue roll rate or a combination thereof; weighting the respective error for at least one state associated with the hose or the drogue in order to prioritize one or more of the hose elevation rate, the hose azimuth rate, the drogue pitch rate, the drogue yaw rate or the drogue roll rate; receiving an indication of a current state of the drogue; determining, with a processor, a command to be issued to an actuator carried by the drogue based upon the current state of the drogue, the respective error, following weighting, for at least one state associated with the hose, the respective error, following weighting, for at least one state associated with the drogue and a current command that has been previously issued to the actuator; and issuing the command to the actuator to control the at least one state associated with the hose and the at least one state associated with the drogue.