Limited aerodynamic System Identification of the T-38A using SIDPAC software

The T-38A is the primary training aircraft at the USAF Test Pilot School. The aircraft used was fully instrumented for all aerodynamic flight parameters including angular rates, accelerations, and control surface positions. Flight test data were obtained over a series of sub-sonic and supersonic test points in the clean aircraft configuration. The flight test data were reduced using the System Identification Programs for AirCraft (SIDPAC) toolbox for MATLAB resulting in an aerodynamic model of the T-38A. The investigation identified several considerations when conducting a short-term, limited scope model identification test. The lessons learned from this application may be applied to further studies of aircraft dynamics.