Aircraft System Identification

This book provides a comprehensive treatment of both the theoretical underpinnings and the practical application of aircraft modeling based on experimental data, also known as aircraft system identification. The methods and algorithms explained in the book are implemented in a NASA software toolbox called SIDPAC (System IDentification Programs for AirCraft). SIDPAC is written in MATLAB, and is available by request from NASA Langley Research Center to U.S. citizens only. SIDPAC is composed of many different tools that implement a wide variety of practical approaches explained fully in the book. These tools can be readily applied to solve aircraft system identification problems.

Dr. Vladislav Klein is Professor Emeritus of Engineering at the George Washington University, in Washington, DC. He received his Ph.D. from Cranfield University, Cranfield, UK, in 1974. He worked at the Aeronautical Research and Test Institute in Prague, The Czech Republic, from 1954 to 1970, then as a Senior Research Officer at Cranfield University in Cranfield, UK, from 1970 to 1975. He joined The George Washington University in 1975 as a faculty member at the Joint Institute for the Advancement of Flight Sciences (JIAFS) at NASA Langley Research Center. In addition to his teaching activities, he has been the principal investigator on research programs which included the improvement of existing methods and development of new methods for flight test data analysis. Some of these techniques are being used by various research establishments and aerospace companies in the United States and abroad. For his contributions to aircraft system identification research, he was awarded the NASA Medal for Exceptional Engineering Achievement in 1992.
Dr. Eugene A. Morelli has been a research engineer at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, since 1990. His research interests include flight dynamics, aircraft accident investigation, and all aspects of aircraft system identification. Dr. Morelli has written more than 50 technical papers and reports on these topics, and is the author of SIDPAC (System IDentification Programs for AirCraft). He has designed experiments and developed models for many different aircraft, including the X-29, X-31, F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV), DeHavilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, F-15 ACTIVE, Tu 144LL supersonic transport, North American Navion, and the X-43A (Hyper X), as well as many subscale models. Dr. Morelli is an associate fellow of the AIAA, and has given lectures, graduate courses, and short courses on flight dynamics and aircraft system identification.