High Angle-of-Attack Flight Dynamics of Small UAVs

The angle-of-attack parameter has a significant influence on the aerodynamics and resulting flight dynamics of aircraft. Flight at high angle-of-attack conditions enables many missions; however, the flight dynamics are challenging to model. This paper investigates the flight dynamics for a small UAV that is piloted in open air at high angle-of-attack conditions. Models are estimated from the flight data to indicate some characteristics of the flight dynamics. The lateral dynamics are linear while the longitudinal dynamics and directional dynamics exhibit nonlinearities and high-order terms. Additionally, the magnitude and energy of wing rock is determined for the lateral dynamics.