Mar 04, 2023 RFD Range testing and ZP Testing
Flight Preparation
Requested by: | |
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Required Sub-teams | Mech Electrical EFS CV Operation Sys-Int |
Requested Date | Feb 24, 2023 |
Location and Time | WRESTRC, Mar 4, 2023 10:00-14:00 |
Summary & Goals |
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Approved? | Yes / Pending / No |
Required Persons During Test
Name | Phone # | Role | Reason |
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@Hamza Ali | 437-265-3533 | Flight Test Lead |
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@Hamza Ali |
| Pilot in Command |
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@Ayoung Eun |
| Safety |
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@Suraj Srivastava |
| RFD900 testing rep |
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@Ayoung Eun |
| ZP testing rep |
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Other Attendees
Name | Role |
---|---|
@Hardy Yu (maybe) | flight test coordinator |
@Aidan Bowers (Deactivated) | providing vehicle and insight |
@Hardy Yu |
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@Aidan Bowers (Deactivated) |
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@Daniel Puratich |
|
Joe |
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Success criteria
Tests | Success Criteria | Requirements | Outcome |
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Range Test |
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PPM Passthrough |
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Testing Timeline
Date/Time | Action |
---|---|
Mar 3, 2023 | Aircraft Assembly Houston should be ready to go with the RFD900x as well as with any relevant hardware for testing ZP |
Mar 3, 2023 9pm | Pre-flight Preparation
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Mar 4, 2023 9am | Flight brief from flight test lead |
Mar 4, 2023 10am | Loading onto the Car Take your water bottle with you. Go washroom before we leave! |
Mar 4, 2023 10am | Drive to the test ground |
Mar 4, 2023 10am-2pm | Flight Testing |
Mar 4, 2023 2:15pm | Debrief |
Aircraft Incident Procedures
Incident | Procedure |
---|---|
Crash | Outline the procedure for who will go to handle the aircraft in the event of a crash, what should be done, were emergency equipment is, etc. |
Flyaway | Outline the procedure for flyaways. List relevant contact information for local authorities and plans of action to recover control of the aircraft |
Configuration Error | Outline steps to take in the event of a configuration issue with the aircraft |
Injury |
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Property Damage |
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Week-Before To-Do List
Day-Before To-Do List
Pre-Departure Checklist
Pre-flight Safety Checklist
Post-Flight Checklist
Item | Owner |
---|---|
@Aidan Bowers (Deactivated) @Daniel Puratich | |
N/A | |
@Hamza Ali |
Flight Test Post Mortem
Autopilot was swag
All systems functioned well (RTL, Land, etc)
Our RFD900x worked well
Battery lasted a long time (at least 8 minutes, exact time tbd)
Failsafe (Lost link) went to RTL
Roughly 600m range tested (though we had historically done a 3km test)
Nobody got hurt (physically or mentally)
No preflight briefing
We did not know what the success criteria was when we got there
Should take place right in the morning but did not happen
We weren't rigorous in our testing methodology
It was difficult to view the ground-station due to glare and short USB-cable to antenna tower
Key to WRESTRC was forgotten and we had to go back
No safety briefing
No safety captain was designated
Roles were not well defined
Timelines were not followed
and they were incorrect
Flight Controller configuration was not complete by the day before
Nothing was conformal coated
Houston was not registered and PIC phone number was not on the aircraft
Trusting the autopilot too much
not paying attention to the aircraft when near ground/people
No fire extinguisher
We messed up prop directions initially
The battery test was not added to the list of things to test
The entire premise of doing this RFD range test was misfounded
We had previously tested the RFD to 3km with worse antennas so the entire point of this range test was pointless
Last Cornflakes (Frostedflakes) flight test had an RTL (Return to land)
though this occurred when it wasn’t flying…
ZeroPilot PPM didn’t get tested
We wanted to test this but it wasn’t done in time
We didn’t drain a full battery
So we did not test battery life
This was another goal of the flight test that wasn’t listed
goals that aren’t listed we need to be careful on …
Flight plan to be decided before the day for sure
No media was obtained
We didn’t designate anyone to record or take photos and we ended with no media
We need to plan this
Props were scraped in a minor crash before the major one
We were skipping around on the ground and scraped all the props into the ground
We crashed into snow and there was no liquid protection
Including RCA for crash
We did not know what to do when the crash occurred
Flight test didn’t validate anything
This flight test cost us a ton of money and didn’t validate anything
We didn’t test the ZP PPM
We didn’t test range (which was already tested)
Clearer flight test plan should have been done in advance
We made out 2km test waypoint mission on the spot
RCA for Red Items
Create a RCA and keep it as a child page.
Action Items
@Hamza Ali Discharge batteries |
@Hamza Ali Interpret logs of flight test (Try to get some battery life metrics ??) |
Wait for all electronics to dry out for a while |
After drying we need to validate hardware and reassemble it |
Put things away |
Upload media to media ingest folder |
Other Resources
Booking WRESTRC Field