Re: same BC different weight
It's true that we have to do our part to hit targets. However, just because we're all not 'perfect' marksman doesn't justify working with compromised data.
If you do an accurate, thorough job with the ballistics (as Brad has enabled us to do with his tools) you at least have the best potential to hit the target <span style="font-style: italic">if</span> you get everything else right. I for one don't go out the door planning to F something up. The point is to at least try to do everything right from predicting the trajectory to executing the shot. If you fall short, you know where improvement is required. Given the tools we have available, there's no excuse for not getting the ballistics right.
Re: Aero Coefficients.
The ones Brad mentioned (pitching moment, Magnus force and moment, damping derivatives, etc) these are the hardest to measure. They are the hardest to measure because they're so subtle. Because they're so subtle, they have small effects (making them hard to measure
). The dominant forces are gravity (well known) and drag. Seeing has how drag is such a dominant force, that coefficient is relatively easy to measure with accuracy. Furthermore, getting it right enables the most important part of the trajectory analysis to be accurate. In other words, <span style="text-decoration: underline">'things' that are easy to measure are so because their effects are most apparent, and vise versa</span>.
-Bryan