Estimation and Sensitivity Analysis of Aerodynamic Coefficients of an Aircraft Using Nonlinear Least Square and Fisher Matrix

The aerodynamic coefficients of any flying object can be estimated with high accuracy, by aero-ballistic tests, monitored in aerodynamic laboratories. For test-running management, it is necessary to determine the number and type of estimated variables and the station placement of each test. For this purpose, the sensitivity of variables under measurement, in relation to the associated aerodynamic coefficients must be calculated and surveyed. As the trajectory path is a nonlinear equation with six degrees of freedom, in this article we estimate the aerodynamic coefficients and sensitivity of each output to the changes of aerodynamic coefficients using the least square method and fisher data matrix. In other word, if the test data such as the speed and pitch angle are to be measured in an aero-ballistic test, the results of this research can specify their accuracy and sensitivity to each aerodynamic coefficient and the relevant coefficient errors.