This paper presents the setup and results of a wind tunnel test campaign conducted to identify and analyze the short period dynamics of a small unmanned aircraft system. The experiments are performed in the Göttingen-type wind tunnel operated by the Chair of Flight Mechanics at the TU Dresden. A specially designed test rig enables static and dynamic testing with the aircraft being either fixed or having a pitching degree of freedom. In the static test
campaign time averaged data collected with a six component balance is used to determine the static aerodynamic derivatives. Additionally, the aircraft’s pitching dynamics, including pitch damping are investigated with the dynamic test configuration. With a grey box identification approach parameters characterizing these dynamics are estimated from pitch rate data collected
with a Pixhawk 6x. By combining static and dynamic test results, a complete parameter set for linear short period models is obtained. Analysis of the models’ natural frequency and damping ratio across the airspeed range demonstrates behavior consistent with realistic short period dynamics. This altogether strengthens the confidence in the ability of the test setup to provide an efficient, safe and easy way to gain insight in the short period dynamics of small unmanned aircraft systems.