Automated Flight Testing of a Distributed Electric Propulsion Flying Model

This work presents the development and implementation of a fully automated flight testing methodology for the SwitchMaster, a Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) demonstrator designed to investigate aero-propulsive coupling effects. Previous manual flight campaigns were limited by variability in trim conditions and inconsistent excitation inputs, constraining both data quality and the range of blowing conditions achievable in flight. The proposed framework integrates mission design, nonlinear Simulink simulation, Software-in-the-Loop validation and autonomous flight through the onboard PX4 autopilot, forming a coherent and reusable flight test suite. A total of 38 autonomous missions and 141 maneuvers were conducted across an expanded envelope of airspeeds and climb angles, enabling exploration of blowing regimes previously inaccessible. Automated trim acquisition and maneuver execution significantly improved repeatability and reduced variability in key stability and control derivatives, yielding clearer trends with the propeller advance ratio J and enhancing subsequent model-identification fidelity. The methodology provides a robust foundation for future DEP research, control-law development and aero-propulsive modelling.