FPP: GSO Handbook

Owned by Anthony Luo
Last updated: 2023-08-29
5 min read

 

Setting Expectations

Although being a ground-station operator doesn’t seem as glamorous as being a pilot, you’ll end up as just an integral part of the flightline team, and you will learn a significant amount about onboard decision systems, as well as how to manage an automatic flight path. In essence, a pilot flies a drone with a controller and goggles, while ground-station operators fly drones with a laptop screen, keyboard, and trackpoint.

You’ll still meet lots of people, you’re share the responsibility of pre-flight checks with your co-operator (the pilot) as well as the flight director, and this is a great path towards understanding more of the autopilot systems and how they all integrate together.

Now that I’ve (hopefully) convinced you, since you’re still here, let’s get onto explaining the program.

Basic flight time and recency requirements

Just like a pilot, we ask that our groundstation operators stay up-to-date with new developments coming out to autopilots and ground control software. This means that each level will ask for a minimum number of hours of “flightline activity”, just to make sure you’re still up to date with WARG workflows, and WARG is still up to date with you!

Where to get resources?

Check out the subpages of this document (once they get written) to find out more about what you’ll need to learn to know what you need to know for each level!

Levels and Expected Competencies

Prior knowledge is not expected, nor necessary. Our competencies for ground-station operators revolve around a few key-areas. You’ll notice that many of these are similar to what pilots need to know, because the two need to operate as a pair and communicate with common knowledge.

  • Understanding a drone “class”

  • Failsafe Operation

  • Telemetry link operation

  • Battery handling

  • Drone Safety

  • Groundstation Operation

  • Ardupilot Operation

  • Safety

This is not a comprehensive list of everything you will be asked to present at your evaluation, but a list of the expectations for each level! We encourage you to work towards these slowly and learn as you go by participating in flight tests and asking lots of questions!

Beginner

Beginner, or “bgn” for short, is the most basic level. This is the level you should be at if you’re comfortable at create ardupilot mission plans, arming/disarming from GCS, looking at telemetry screens, identifying important information, and relaying information to your flight director and pilot.

Although you don’t need your TC-CAN Basic RPAS license, we strongly encourage you to get this! It will allow you to fly the drone without a pilot through GCS missions only!

Operational Classes:

  • Houston

Minimum Operator Time Requirements

  • 3 flight tests under supervision

Recency Requirements

  • One flight test per term (approx 5 hours of flight testing a year)

Beginner GSO Competencies

  • Drone “class”: Houston

    • Identify parts, flight-critical components

    • Identify correct/incorrect safe/unsafe parts

    • Understanding how to bench-test components (safely)

    • Being able to create pre and post-flight checklists

  • Failsafe Operation

    • Understanding different triggers for failsafe

      • Battery voltage (low, critical)

      • Distance to home

      • Vibe / EKF

      • RC / THR

      • Telemetry / GCS

    • Understanding different failsafe operations

      • Land

      • RTL / Smart RTL

      • Disarm

  • Telemetry Link Operation

    • Understanding how to use ELRS Airport as described in Houston quick start guide

    • Understanding antenna Polarities

  • Battery Handling

    • Charging, discharging, storage, and handling of 3s 4000-5000mah batteries

    • Understanding how to wire, harness, and place batteries for safe operation

    • Understanding how to safely bench-test a drone powerup

  • Groundstation Operation

    • Knowing how to setup “quick stats” screen in mission planner

    • Knowing how to identify flight mode, battery voltage, current draw

    • Knowing how to create a mission plan (including takeoff, landing), upload, and start it

      • MUST know how to start it GCS only, as well as what to tell a pilot to do

    • Knowing how to load offline maps

    • Knowing how to download logs over MAVLink

  • Ardupilot Operation

    • Understanding what a “tune” is, and what a “bad tune” or “good tune” means in terms of EKF, vibe, and flight characteristics.

  • Safety

    • Knowing how to call for help (medical, fire, police) while flying

    • Understanding what documents you must have in order to fly a done safely.

Intermediate

Intermediate, or “int” for short, is when you start to get past just operational capabilities, and are able to diagnose and provide solutions for basic issues!

Operational Classes:

  • Houston

  • Vanguard

Minimum Operator Time Requirements

  • 3+ flight tests with basic

  • 1 flight test where you ran through pre/post flight checklists with the pilot

Recency Requirements

  • 2 flight tests / term (approx 6 tests a year)

    • Must be flight-test lead or joint flight-test lead with similar level GSO for 1/3 of attended flight tests.

Intermediate GSO Competencies

In addition to beginner-level competencies:

  • Understanding a drone “class”

    • Houston or Dual: setup, from scratch, including basic configuration with ardupilot and basisc controller configuration

    • Varguard or Tubie: understanding flight critical components and safe/unsafe states of these components

    • Understanding sensor functions, capabilities, use cases, and connections.

      • Strongly encouraged to have understanding of basic SI

  • Failsafe Operation

    • Understanding how we can work to prevent failsafes from occuring in future flight tests

  • Telemetry link operation

    • Understanding how to setup LTE, as well as RFD900s

    • Understanding ELRS packet rates, gemini

    • Understanding how to use NETID and air vs baud speed for RFD900’s

    • Understanding basic antenna types and radiation patterns

    • Understanding how to setup redundant telemetry links

  • Battery handling

    • 3s, 5s, 6s battery handling

  • Drone Safety

    • Ability to read through logs and understand why the drone failed

  • Groundstation Operation

    • Understanding the function of different flight modes

    • Understanding how to review logs

  • Ardupilot Operation

    • Understanding of Ardupilot configuration for sensors, ESC’s, etc.

    • Understanding Autotune process

    • Understanding Fixed-Wing tuning for TECS

    • Understanding how to download parameters and re-upload them

  • Safety

    • Understanding how to communicate with ATC

    • Understanding how to “scan the sky” for manned aircraft

    • Understanding what radio frequencies are used and how they may be interfered with

Expert

Expert is when you become an ardupilot guru. I wish I could list out requirements but honestly, there’s so much to know and there’s so much to learn. Someone can be designated “expert” when they reach the following requirements:

  • 5+ flight tests as intermediate

  • 3+ good debriefs & log analysis post-flight

  • Holds intermediate pilot

  • Understands how to use ardupilot docs to setup advanced items such as:

    • CAN sensors

    • GPS, RTK GPS, GPS for YAW

    • Aux functions, relays

    • FFT / Notch filtering

    • Redundant telemetry/rclink

  • Understanding the system of the drone, for ex:

    • how autonomy delivers instructions

    • bidir dshot, esc’s, autopilots, power monitoring, etc.

Competition

The only difference between a competition gso and an expert is the following:

  • ROC-A

  • HAM

  • Advanced RPAS