A system for controlling nonlinear plants which may be effected with gain scheduled feedback controllers. Several linear sub-controllers having various gains may be put together as one unit. The overall controller may be changed by switching from one sub-controller to another according to an exogenous or endogenous parameter. The signal to the switch may reflect operational ranges of the plant occurring at certain times and indicate the gain desired from the system relative to the output and input signals of the plant at those times. The advantages of the present approach may include a guarantee of nominal and robust stability both global and local, a permitting of the use of control structures that are familiar to industrial practitioners, and no requirement of advanced mathematical techniques for its implementation.