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titleCard 2: Task 2

Test 1: Tuning

Procedure

Goals / Objectives

Knockoff Criteria

  1. Battery plugged in

  • Mission planner no pre-arm warning

  • make sure autotune is in one of the flight mode

  1. Bring the drone to the flightline

  • toggle safety switch

  1. Enable logging

  1. Take off the drone in Loiter

  • verify drone flight performance

  • Drone unstable

  • unable to establish VLOS

  • Timer threshold:

    • flight time exceeded 5 min.

    VBatt below safety threshold: 10V

    • QLAND immediately, disarm when landed.

    • Recover drone & gather state of batteries

    Lost link

    • Follow lost link procedures. Maintain vlos if possible.

    • Contact necessary local authorities.

  1. Engage Autotune

  • one axis at a time

  • Drone unstable

  • unable to establish VLOS

  • Timer threshold:

    • flight time exceeded 5 min.

    VBatt below safety threshold: 10V

    • QLAND immediately, disarm when landed.

    • Recover drone & gather state of batteries

    Lost link

    • Follow lost link procedures. Maintain vlos if possible.

    • Contact necessary local authorities.

  1. Switch Flight mode to Loiter to back to landing area

  • Drone unstable

  • unable to establish VLOS

  • Timer threshold:

    • flight time exceeded 5 min.

    VBatt below safety threshold: 10V

    • QLAND immediately, disarm when landed.

    • Recover drone & gather state of batteries

    Lost link

    • Follow lost link procedures. Maintain vlos if possible.

    • Contact necessary local authorities.

  1. Land the drone with autotune mode

  • to permanently save the PID value

  • Drone unstable

  • unable to establish VLOS

  • Timer threshold:

    • flight time exceeded 5 min.

    VBatt below safety threshold: 10V

    • QLAND immediately, disarm when landed.

    • Recover drone & gather state of batteries

    Lost link

    • Follow lost link procedures. Maintain vlos if possible.

    • Contact necessary local authorities.

  1. Disarm the drone

  • disarm the drone, Toggle safety switch

Expand
titleCard 3: Task 13

Test 1: Test Basic Obstacle Avoidance TODO

Procedure

Goals / Objectives

Knockoff Criteria

  1. Turn on drone

  1. Set waypoints

  • Create a simple path for the drone to follow.

 

  1. Run main obstacle avoidance script

  • Ensure no errors.

Bring drone to the flightline

 

  1. Set up the obstacle in course

 

 

  1. Battery plugged in

  • Mission planner no pre-arm warning

  • make sure AUTO is in one of the flight mode

  1. Bring the drone to the flightline

  • toggle safety switch

  1. Enable logging

  1. Arm the drone and set mode to AUTO

 

 

  1. Let drone start flying through waypoints in AUTO

  1. Hold the obstacle in drone flight path

 

  • Drone unstable

  • unable to establish VLOS

  • Timer threshold:

    • flight time exceeded 5 min.

    VBatt below safety threshold: 10V

    • QLAND immediately, disarm when landed.

    • Recover drone & gather state of batteries

    Lost link

    • Follow lost link procedures. Maintain vlos if possible.

    • Contact necessary local authorities.

  1. Wait for drone to approach the obstacle

  1. Ensure that drone stops and enters LOITER mode

  • Ensure the drone stops ~10m away from obstacle.

  • Ensure drone switches to LOITER mode upon detecting obstacle.

Drone If the drone does not stop within 10m of the person and obstacle:

  • Person The person holding the obstacle steps out of flight path immediately.

  • Pilot manually intervenes and skips to Step 13 (landing and disarming drone).

  1. Remove the obstacle from the flight path and ensure the drone reenters AUTO mode

  • Ensure the drone resumes its mission.

Drone
  • Ensure drone switches to AUTO mode upon obstacle removal.

If drone does not resume :to landing waypoint

  • Pilot manually takes over and proceeds to Step 13 (landing and disarming drone).

  1. Drone hovers over the 2nd waypoint (the landing waypoint

  1. Drone auto lands

  1. )

  •  Ensure drone completes the mission.

 

  1. Pilot manually intervenes and lands drone

 

 

  1. Disarm the drone

  • disarm the drone, Toggle safety switch

Necessary Preparation

Explain what capacity you need, what needs to be mounted, etc.

Necessary items:

  • JetsonRPI

  • CV camera

  • < rfd900 >

  • etc

  • Lidar

Flight characteristics needed:

  • Flight speed

  • flight distance

  • max altitude

  • < etc >stability

Comms / Support needed:

...

Autonomous/repeatable missions

...

ability to hold location within +/- X meters

...

...

etc….

🫂 Mandatory Attendees

This is a section for all attendees from your subteam which will be present for this flight test. (because they are testing their products, or otherwise)

Name

Phone #

Sub-team

Role

Smile Khatri

8076320853

Mech

Evan Janakievski

206-247-2823

Mech

Yuchen Lin

6474256385

Hardy Yu

Ashish Agrahari

5195898378

Auto

Manasva Katyal

2896985018

EFS

Andrew Shum

6473836886

Auto

Testing obstacle avoidance

Tong Zhang

2897729826

Auto

Ben Lovegrove

5195917981

Mech

...

Flightline Team

...

Expand
titleDay-of checklist
  • Batteries in safety bag

  • Equipment

    • Zip tie

    • duck tape

    • label maker

    • Type c cable

    • ELRS Gemini

    • Saleae Logic Analyzer

    • charged WARG laptop

    • spare bag for small electronics

    • controller box

      • two controller

      • battery tester

    • VTX box

  • execute

Total 5 main system checked:

  • Power system(battery and connection)

  • Propulsion system(motor and propeller)

  • Controller system(Control links and ground station system)

  • Sensory system(sensors)

  • Video system (VTX)


  • Debrief

  • clean / store equipment if necessary

⏲️ Flight Test Timeline

...

Date/Time

Action

Notes

lunch time ish

Briefing @ WARG Bay

 

Arrival at Flight Test Location

 

Experiment with tracking antenna

 

 

Bring equipment to flightline

 

Test1 card 1

Hardy Yu manually track the drone

RTL because RC failsafe

Configure direct binding phrase to use normal controller elrs instead of gemini

 

Test 1 card 1

 Nathan Green

Test 2 card 1 practice #1

 Nathan Green

 

 Test 2 card 1 practice #2

 Nathan Green

 

 switch battery

 

Test 2 card 1 practice #3

Nathan Green

Test 2 card 1 practice #4

Nathan Green

Test 2 card 1 practice #5

Yuchen Lin

Presentation Photos

Start 4:30pm

Debrief10:00

arrive bay

12:30

setup test and get ready to go

12:40 ~1:10

wait for the weather

1:10

first take off

1:20

second takeoff

1:30

Fixed the prop

1:40

return to service flight

...

💻 DEBRIEF

Flight test debrief report

Before Card 1:

Before departure

Yuchen Lin didn’t logistic going to flight test → next time book the car beforehand + long weekend machine shop does not open

Yuchen Lin Hardy Yu Testing with huston → connected to mission planner and able to forward the message(test 2 times)

  • first one does not flash the latest code

  • second one see tracking antenna working as expected

After departure

pre-flight tracking antenna testing: (no code change)

Keep rotating without stop and does not work

After adjust to the north keep rotating clockwise

does not help after adding delay

 

  • Please upload the picture to media digest!!!

    • updated thanks a lot

  • Weather is a huge thing

    • Glad doesn’t risk and fly in heavy rain

    • Next time plan ahead of time

  • A prop just break during transportation

    • suspect overtighten issue

    • replace one props

Card 1 Test 1

Info

Flight planning

  • conduct half task 1 goal (1.5 lap)Take-off, full stick deflection, and engage autotune

Flight test card requirements/objectives Performance

  • Comp sim

Panel
bgColor#E3FCEF

Control performance & payload situation

  • Four payload in the cabin + alien key

  • Hardy Yu manually track the droneControl feels OK to Yuchen Lin in althold and loiter

Note

Identified issue

  • Compass variance issue

  • place the drone backward and cause sharp turningAutotune does not start (drifting)

  • wait for the weather to be clear

    • next time need better planning

Warning

Issue need to be RCA

  •  Gemini not working (performance worse than without gemini) → fully lost link

    • Link quality got worst after first lap

    • possible thermal issue

    • flew lost link 750 meter

    • previously tested with the same gemini board with smaller antenna with 3km

    • gemini is not hot at all

    • look at power used(power limit)

  •  

 

Card 1 Test 1 retry 12

Info

Flight planning

  • conduct half task 1 goal (1.5 lap)Take-off, full stick deflection, and engage autotune

Flight test card requirements/objectives Performance

  • Check tuning in all three mode and compass variable at full throttle.

Panel
bgColor#E3FCEF

Control performance & payload situation

  • Four payload in the cabin

  • Current draw pretty good at calm weather

  • half of task 1 5000mahControl feels OK to Hardy Yu , report drifting a lot issue in loiter (maybe setting and stick center)

Note

Identified issue

  • aggressive takeoff

  • Almost all the time ekf yellowWhen attempted landing, one prop break and fly out

    • result: instable in landing and crashed

    • no damage to the system

  • The other two prop are having crack

  • Conclusion replace three props in total

Warning

Issue need to be RCA

  •  

 Card 2 Test 1

return to service

Info

Flight planning

  • Test the auto mission task 2 pathing and training pilot for landinggentle takeoff and control check

Flight test card requirements/objectives Performance

  • During flight time upload the mission to pixhawk

  • Arm in auto and complete the mission

  • Pilot navigate through and land on the pad with fpv goggle

Panel
bgColor#E3FCEF

Control performance & payload situation

  • Four payload in the cabin

  • GSO and pilot get familiar with callout (Better callout procedure for less than 1 meter → with range finder) practice next week

  • cannot really callout the height sub 1 meter

  • easy to land on the paved ground

  • all the landing are smooth and within timeframe

  • descent first

Note

Identified issue

  • Daniel Puratich callout at last waypoint based on height not ardupilot

  • Full path does not show outside of planning window

Note

Identified issue

  • Two of the regular nuts for props are loosen in the flight are cause thrust lost

    • result leads to crash

Warning

Issue need to be RCA

  •  

 

Overall performance and Lessons learned

Outcomes

  • confident in flight characteristics of the drone and electrical robsutness

    • spline waypoints looked good during flight but looks poor on mission plannre

  • low confidence in custom rf links and tracking antenna

    • not using tracking antenna for comp → cc Daniel Puratich to bringup at AEAC

    • Gemini board was low link quality

      • try another gemini board and see if it works

  • Nathan Green apply new mag fit data based on today’s data

Check weather before comp.

Flightline tasks:
bring vtx tower, drone(path uploaded, battery in , shourds on), controller and the monitor

Before takeoff

Daniel Puratich conduct the pre takeoff checklist

manually toggle safety switch

confirm take off flight mode

arm in auto

Tip

Did not risk any valuable component and don’t have any issue with the rest of the system

none of the other system got damaged

Warning

Haven’t finish any objective for the day

need seperate session for pilot training

flying props are dangerous

Need to respec the props

Evan Janakievski will be available on 27th → next pilot training session time

Update on July 12th:

Smile Khatri Point out during July 6th flight test, The propeller normally come with a black ring at the bottom of the prop. The reason for the prop failure is that the ring was not installed, and when the motor spins, stress accumulates across the injection moulding edge. [need mech clarification]


Smile Khatri Can you add a photo of the black ring? thanks

The second lesson we learned is that Loctile is not suitable for a prop and might damage the prop. Also, it takes a long time to solidify, so if we use Loctile during flight test, it does not have any effect.