Drone 1-2-3

Projects
Participants	Cyberdutch
Skills	RC planes, Arduino
Status	Active
Niche	Electronics
Purpose	Fun

Drone 1-2-3: An autonomously flying wing glider

Drone 1-2-3 is a glider drone based on the Alula urban flying wing (parts already there), a Walkera WK-2801 PRO R/C (in my attic) and an Arduino based auto-pilot for stabilization and navigation.

So far the only parts that needed to be ordered were: A Mini APM v3.1 (ArduPilot 2.6) and an external compass/GPS (Ublox NEO 6M GPS HMC5883L). Total costs: Less than 47 euro, including (free) shipping and (delivery free of) taxes.

Steps in this project:

1. Build the plane (trim and fly)

2. Make it remotely controlled (R/C)

3. Teach it to fly autonomously

The secondary goal of this project is: Extended flight time (longer than a day?). The coexisting primary goals are planet domination, colonizing of space and sheer fun.

Feb 16, 2015 - R/C equipment tested - Check!

After not using it for 5 years, the Li-Po battery pack of the transmitter was showing no signs of life anymore. Luckily I found an AA battery holder for 8 cells to replace it. For the time being that will do.

The (less critical) Ni-MH receiver battery was still in good condition. I charged/discharged it a few times and it holds approximately 286mAh x 4.8V (which is okay for an advertised nominal capacity of 300mAh).

Everything was connected, switched-on, binded, and worked fine :-)

Specs Walkera WK-2801 PRO transmitter:

8-channel, 2.4G, output pulse 1100-1900Ms (1500 neutral)

100mW (10mW default) output power

230mA current drain

12V (8x 1.5V AA)

Specs Walkera RX-2801 PRO receiver (9.23g):

8-channel, 95dbm sensitivity, frequency interval >=4M

receiver battery (29.65g)

4.8V 300mAh (4x1.2V) Ni-MH

Specs micro Blue Bird BMS-306BB servos (2x 6.91gr):

torque 1.1kg/cm, speed 0.10sec/60deg

Feb 24, 2015 - Planned test flights (R/C) & Flying sites

Drone 1-2-3 is now ready for some flying tests.

The idea is to start teaching the drone to fly autonomously only after thoroughly being tested and tuned. It should have proven stable flying characteristics in R/C controlled mode.

Drone 1-2-3 is controlled by ailerons (roll) and elevator (pitch) combined in a 2-servo delta wing setup. Roll and pitch are mixed electronically: One servo drives the left wing control surface and one servo drives the right wing control surface.

Suitable flying sites are scarce in Holland. But there are some promising places.

For park flying: Near the Sloterplas, Amsterdam

For slope soaring not far from Amsterdam: Zaandam (De Belt) or Haarlemmerliede (Mooie Nel)

For excellent slope soaring in the Netherlands: Zeeland (Zoutelande) (with south-west facing dunes of 30-50m high). This flying site is over 2hrs from Amsterdam, but with a season-discount-ticket from the NS the distance is (money wise) only 16 euros for a return ticket

March 17, 2015 - Some real world flying (R/C)

After adding 15.74g of lead to its nose in order to move the center of gravity forward to its proper spot, it was time for some real world flying! (By the way, Later the lead can be replaced with batteries or other functional stuff).

Today in light spring air, Drone 1-2-3 made its maiden flight from the small slope near the Sloterplas.

First few radio-controlled flights were somewhat challenging. But after Drone 1-2-3 was properly electronically trimmed, flying became a breeze. I didn't need to drive the plane all by myself anymore. Drone 1-2-3 showed stable flight characteristics and steering inputs were received and processed happily by her.

Drone 1-2-3 is a project run in collaboration with Almere hackerspace Sk1llz