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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">WESD</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>Wind Energy Science Discussions</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">WESD</abbrev-journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="nlm-ta">Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss.</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="epub">2366-7621</issn>
<publisher><publisher-name></publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Göttingen, Germany</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5194/wes-2026-69</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title>Controlling rigid-wing airborne wind energy systems during circular flight without exact path following</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Nguyen</surname>
<given-names>Duc H.</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6871-7919</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Porta Ko</surname>
<given-names>Agustí</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9648-9821</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Tveide</surname>
<given-names>Tallak</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Lowenberg</surname>
<given-names>Mark H.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Oland</surname>
<given-names>Espen</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group><aff id="aff1">
<label>1</label>
<addr-line>School of Civil, Aerospace, and Design Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TR, United Kingdom</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff2">
<label>2</label>
<addr-line>Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff3">
<label>3</label>
<addr-line>Kitemill AS, Voss, 5704, Norway</addr-line>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>23</day>
<month>04</month>
<year>2026</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>2026</volume>
<fpage>1</fpage>
<lpage>37</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x000a9; 2026 Duc H. Nguyen et al.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2026</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"  xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link></license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://wes.copernicus.org/preprints/wes-2026-69/">This article is available from https://wes.copernicus.org/preprints/wes-2026-69/</self-uri>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://wes.copernicus.org/preprints/wes-2026-69/wes-2026-69.pdf">The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://wes.copernicus.org/preprints/wes-2026-69/wes-2026-69.pdf</self-uri>
<abstract>
<p>We propose a simple feedback architecture that enables effective flight control of rigid-wing airborne wind energy systems during circular-pattern reel out. The controller performs well with only proportional-integral regulators, thereby presenting a significantly simpler solution compared to the existing literature. The key idea is in tracking the roll angle on a non-static reference frame, effectively reducing the control problem to one degree of freedom. This method of navigation does not require users to define an exact path for the kite to follow, which contributes to stability and robustness. In its minimum viable form, the controller can function with only ailerons while requiring no pitot-tube measurement, although the addition of elevators and rudder enables angle-of-attack and zero-sideslip tracking for more efficient power generation. Simulation-based verification is conducted on an industrial, 6-degree-of-freedom model with a flexible tether, nonlinear aerodynamics, and realistic wind conditions, showing satisfactory performance in all cases. Three expansions to the control law are then presented. The first one reduces angle of attack fluctuation during reel-out by adding a proportional pitch angle feedback term to the elevator, resulting in more power. In the second expansion, the reel-out radius is automatically adjusted to enable phase synchronisation of multiple kites in a farm configuration, where minimum separation rules may apply. The third expansion implements a simple proportional feedback rule that enables figure-of-eight flight. By using simple proportional-integral architecture, the controller is easy to implement, making it a suitable baseline system for benchmarking more advanced control laws.</p>
</abstract>
<counts><page-count count="37"/></counts>
<funding-group>
<award-group id="gs1">
<funding-source>Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council</funding-source>
<award-id>EP/Y014545/1</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs2">
<funding-source>HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions</funding-source>
<award-id>101168734</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs3">
<funding-source>European Health and Digital Executive Agency</funding-source>
<award-id>101226256</award-id>
</award-group>
</funding-group>
</article-meta>
</front>
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