allanhurst:
To make a PID controller you need to know where the cylinder is at every point. Can you fit eg a potentiometer to give this information?regards..
Allan.
PID does require feedback of the process, not really the device being controlled.
there are lots of examples of balancing a ball on a bar. start there.
a potentiometer, a range finder, an encoder. depends if you want to measure the rotary angle of some point, or the distance from some point, or even use level and angles.
your flight simulator setpoint will be the desired angle for banks and turns.
not sure how you will handle turbulance, but once you have the simple things figured and working, the rest should just be tweeking.