Flight investigation of various control inputs intended for parameter estimation

NASA's F-8 digital fly-by-wire aircraft has been subjected to stability and control derivative assessments, leading to the proposal of improved control inputs for more efficient control derivative estimation. This will reduce program costs by reducing flight test and data analysis requirements. Inputs were divided into sinusoidal types and cornered types. Those with corners produced the best set of stability and control derivatives for the unaugmented flight control system mode. Small inputs are noted to have provided worse derivatives than larger ones.