Modeling and Evaluation of Aircraft Flight Dynamics in Spatially Varying Atmospheric Conditions for Embedded Sensors Calibration

Model-based approaches are increasingly used in aerospace metrology to support the design of measurement strategies and the interpretation of in-flight data under realistic operating conditions. In this context, the availability of reliable flight-dynamics models is essential not only for predicting the aircraft response to atmospheric disturbances, but also for identifying the most informative conditions and locations for sensor deployment. This work investigates the influence of vertical wind gusts on the longitudinal dynamic response of a commercial aircraft through the comparison of two deterministic gust representations: an exponential front, intended to reproduce a smoother and more realistic gust development, and a simplified linear front model with the same characteristic intensity and length. The aircraft response is evaluated by means of a linearized dynamic model implemented in MATLAB/Simulink, and the two gust profiles are compared in terms of load-factor evolution and minimum load factor. The results show that the linear gust model produces a more severe transient response, whereas the exponential profile leads to a smoother and more physically consistent behavior. These findings provide a physics-based basis for the metrological planning of onboard sensing systems, supporting the selection and future positioning of sensors aimed at maximizing the acquisition of informative flight-response data under gust disturbances.