nick_a

I was asked the question, while spreading the word on openpilot, if the CC could be used as a rudimentary auto pilot for lightweight aircraft. It seems some of these planes already use rc servos to actuate trim tabs so it doesn't seem as big a stretch. obviously i expressed my concerns about equipment that is not man rated but i do feel it is a possibility and was curious what others thought.

nick

my two year old daughter has always enjoyed watching me attempt to fly my quad, so when I started to FPV she asked for the "flying glasses" i obliged and now I am not allowed to use them anymore. Wonder if the wife will see this as a good enough reason for another pair of goggles.

All this rain is giving me withdrawals... I would like to have something to look forward to, any chance there is some interest in a meet any time soon.

and we can look for bits of the meteor as well

nick

The goal of this build was to use the fewest possible tools and easy/cheap to get materials. The entire quad will be built from one sheet of 12in x 6in x1/8in lite ply, which is roughly the thickness of the table saw blade, and all the cuts can be made from a table saw. This is not intended to be a high performance, super light weight, or extremely durable frame but something to quickly get into the air with cheap components while i am on holiday.

Rx: Frsky D4R
motor: 1300kv Blue wonder 20g
ESC: 10A hobbywing/plush
FC: CC
Total cost minus CC ~ 85 GBP

Here is some of the cut pieces and the leftover bits from the sheet. They will be used for the battery, FC, and Rx mount


The build requires four stripes cut and grooved identically, the strips are 7/16in wide


To ensure a square build, I took a scrape piece of MDF and very carefully drilled out four holes 12in center to center for the 1300kv bluewonder motors. once the motor mounts are done i will glue everything in place (hopefully square) while the motors are held by the MDF.


The frame required a bit of sanding but goes together quite well


Attaching the motor mounts.


I will be trying to finish up this build and get it into the air soon but am having trouble finding m2 hardware for the motor mounts while in Houston. And i still need to add a mount for the battery and FC.
The 4 strips and motor mounts weigh 35-40 grams, estimated completed frame weight will be in the neighborhood of 50-60 grams. The feel of the frame unglued is quite stiff and the torsional resistance is quite impressive for such a minimalist build. once the top and bottom plates are glued it will only get better.

The build is easy enough but if anybody would like some plans i could easily draw some up and perhaps more detailed build instructions.

Dont know if this has been highlighted before but while familiarizing myself with the GCS i noticed that the preset mixer settings change with your model selection. unfortunately certain models (specifically the y6 and tricopter) dont update the settings and instead retain what ever level was there from the preceding model selection. Is this the expected behavior?

first noticed on a win 7 machine
build: f85ae84e 20110819 06:48

also tested on a fresh install on an old XP computer with identical results.

Nick