System identification of small-size unmanned helicopter dynamics

TLDR

The study aimed to identify a dynamic model of a Yamaha R‑SO model‑scale unmanned helicopter by applying CIFER system‑identification techniques. Flight tests on a fully‑instrumented Yamaha R‑SO helicopter were analyzed with CIFER to construct a linear state‑space model that explicitly represents rotor‑flap, fuselage, and yaw‑damper dynamics. The resulting high‑bandwidth linear state‑space model accurately predicts hover behavior, aligns with scaled UH‑1H data, and is well suited for flight‑control design and simulation.

Abstract

Abstmcf: Flight testing of a fully-instrumented model-scale unmanned helicopter (Yamaha R-SO with loft. diameter rotor) was conducted for the purpose of dynamic model identification. This paper describes the application of CIFER' system identification techniques, which have been developed for full size helicopters, to this aircraft. An accurate, high-bandwidth, linear state-space model was derived for the hover condition. The model structure includes the explicit representation of regressive rotor-flap dynamics, rigid-body fuselage dynamics, and the yaw damper. The R-50 codiguration and identified dynamics are compared with those of a dynamically scaled UH-1H. The identified model shows excellent predictive capability and is well suited for flight control design and simulation applications.