Autopilot working - an eye in the sky
After months of tweaking, working, test flights, and more tweaking, I have a working autopilot system on the new Alpha! Well, this actually happened over 3 weeks ago, but regardless, it is a major step forward. Below is actual video footage of the onboard down-throw camera. This is the actual flight that I will use for data in my simulations. You can clearly see the houses in good detail, yet with enough altitude to make the flight patterns feasible.
The autopilot itself works flawlessly. Its first full-auto flight was at Cane Ridge. Funny story, I had an engine flameout and didn't even notice it. With 6 other birds in the air (almost all internal-combustion), and 3 of them orange-colored Alphas, I lost track of the plane as it kept drifting downward, under autopilot control. I was filming its flight as it happened. Fortunately, the AP realized that the plane was below its security altitude, and maintained level flight, right before it landed in a patch of tall grass. The plane was too low for me to do anything as I realized that there was trouble. No damage, and all was fine. After a few more dead-stick landings, I realized that the engine's low-speed needle valve was not properly tuned. All is now well, and it flies beautifully.
Now that I have my test-case data, I will hopefully add a second aircraft, which may be sponsored by Hobby Lobby. I will also be adding bi-directional 802.15.4 radios for proper air-to-ground and possibly air-to-air communications. It's a bit annoying to have to connect a serial cable to the plane every time I want to take off. But, it works beautifully. Enjoy the video below!
The autopilot itself works flawlessly. Its first full-auto flight was at Cane Ridge. Funny story, I had an engine flameout and didn't even notice it. With 6 other birds in the air (almost all internal-combustion), and 3 of them orange-colored Alphas, I lost track of the plane as it kept drifting downward, under autopilot control. I was filming its flight as it happened. Fortunately, the AP realized that the plane was below its security altitude, and maintained level flight, right before it landed in a patch of tall grass. The plane was too low for me to do anything as I realized that there was trouble. No damage, and all was fine. After a few more dead-stick landings, I realized that the engine's low-speed needle valve was not properly tuned. All is now well, and it flies beautifully.
Now that I have my test-case data, I will hopefully add a second aircraft, which may be sponsored by Hobby Lobby. I will also be adding bi-directional 802.15.4 radios for proper air-to-ground and possibly air-to-air communications. It's a bit annoying to have to connect a serial cable to the plane every time I want to take off. But, it works beautifully. Enjoy the video below!
