Frequency and Time Domain Recursive Parameter Estimation For a Flexible Aircraft

Aerodynamic parameter estimation is an integral part of aerospace system design and life cycle process. Recent advances in computational power have allowed the use of online parameter estimation techniques in various applications. In this paper, two online parameter estimation methods are considered for the identification of aerodynamic derivatives of a flexible aircraft: Equation Error Method and Kalman Filtering Method. The performance of the two algorithms is compared in terms of accuracy, computational efficiency and convergence. Simulation results indicate that Kalman filtering method has good convergence property and yields parameter estimates with better accuracy compared to the equation error method.