  Accurate mathematical models of aerodynamic properties play an important role
in the aerospace field. In some cases, system parameters of an aircraft can be
estimated reliably only via flight tests. In order to obtain meaningful
experimental data, the aircraft dynamics need to be excited via suitable
maneuvers. In this paper, optimal maneuvers are obtained for an autonomous
aircraft by solving a time domain model-based optimum experimental design
problem that aims to obtain more accurate parameter estimates while enforcing
safety constraints.The optimized inputs are compared with respect to
conventional maneuvers widely used in the aerospace field and tested within
real experiments.
