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 - Test flights (R/C) & Flying sites
The drone is now ready for some flying tests.
The idea is to start teaching the drone to fly autonomously only after thoroughly being tested and trimmed in R/C controlled mode.
Suitable flying sites are scarce in Holland. But the following sites look promising:
For park flying, close to the Sloterplas, Amsterdam
For slope soaring near Amsterdam, Zaandam (De Belt)
Or Haarlemmerliede (Mooie Nel)
For excellent Dutch slope soaring, with south-west facing dunes of 30-50m high the destination is going to be Zeeland (Zoutelande) 173km from Amsterdam, with a season-discount-ticket from the NS the distance in money is only 16 euros (return).
