This isn't quite aircraft, but a while back I wrote a VB macro that,
in conjunction with a very crude model of a concrete mixer, was
capable of predicting the CG of aforesaid truck with a fraction of an
inch of what the customer was measuring. For such studies you make a
rude and crude model that will update quickly but that captures the
intent of the study you are doing.

I will many times not even use a 3D model if I can do it in Excel.
Nobody likes this because you can't see the pretty pictures, but you
can run through lots of scenarios very quickly that way. And with the
solver in Excel being what it is there is little that can't be done to
get close to the right answer.

TOP

PS Also search the NG for configurator. There are some very good ones
out there for SW.