To determine the static buckling loads and evaluate the structural performance of slender steel pipe-arches such as for greenhouse structures, a series of modal tests using a fixed hammer and roving sensors was carried out, by providing no load, then a range of vertical loads, on an arch rib in several steps. More attention was given to an internal arch where vertical and horizontal auxiliary members are not placed, unlike an end arch. Modal parameters such as natural frequencies, mode shapes and damping ratios were extracted using more advanced system identification methods such as PolyMAX (Polyreference Least-Squares Complex Frequency Domain), and compared with those predicted by commercial FEA (Finite Element Analysis) software ANSYS for various conditions. A good correlation between them was achieved in an overall sense, however the reduction of natural frequencies due to the existence of preaxial loads was not apparent when the vertical load level was about up to 38% of its resistance. Some difficulties related to the field testing and parameter extraction for a very slender arch, as might arise from the influences of neighboring members, are carefully discussed.