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Mar 04, 2023 RFD Range testing and ZP Testing

Mar 04, 2023 RFD Range testing and ZP Testing

Owned by Hamza Ali, created
Last updated: 2023-03-04 by Daniel Puratich
6 min read

 Flight Preparation

Requested by:

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

  • Range testing for the RFD900x on Houston in a controlled manner

  • ZP Testing for passthrough during flight

Approved?

Yes / Pending / No

 Required Persons During Test

Name

Phone #

Role

Reason

Name

Phone #

Role

Reason

@Hamza Ali

437-265-3533

Flight Test Lead

  • Creating documentation

  • Booking the test flight

  • Creating a thread in #flight-staging

 @Hamza Ali

 

 Pilot in Command

  • Aircraft preparation

  • Filling out documentation

@Ayoung Eun

 

Safety

  • Making sure everyone is safe

  • Bringing Med kit

@Suraj Srivastava

 

RFD900 testing rep

  • In charge of coming out with a testing plan and setting up the equipment relavent to RFD 900

@Ayoung Eun

 

ZP testing rep

  • In charge of coming out with a testing plan and setting up the equipment relavent to PPM

 Other Attendees

Name

Role

Name

Role

@Hardy Yu (maybe)

flight test coordinator

@Aidan Bowers (Deactivated)

providing vehicle and insight

@Hardy Yu

 

@Aidan Bowers (Deactivated)

 

@Daniel Puratich

 

Joe

 

 Success criteria

Tests

Success Criteria

Requirements

Outcome

Tests

Success Criteria

Requirements

Outcome

Range Test

  • No failsafe/link loss from flying houston at opposite ends of the WRESTRC training grounds

  • RFD900x should be tested and ready to fly on Houston before flying

  • RFD worked to 500 meters during minor test

PPM Passthrough

 

 

 

Testing Timeline

Date/Time

Action

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

  • Ensure checklists for Houston

  • Ensure all items in checklist are followed

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

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

 

Property Damage

 

Week-Before To-Do List

Flight test location booked
Pilot scheduled
Test Plan (What we are testing)
This should also include the flight path where applicable
Subteam action items (for flight readiness)
Transportation logistics finalized
Booking SDC vehicles
Assigning drivers

Day-Before To-Do List

SDC Vehicle key collected (if required)
Batteries Planned for (DON”T LEAVE CHARGING OVERNIGHT)
Drone batteries & spares
Transmitter batteries
On-site kit together
First Aid Kit
Ground station / Laptop
Antenna / Receivers
Transmitter
Extra Water
Power cords / Extension cables
Wrenches
Allen keys
Knives
Tape
Rope/string
Zip/Velcro ties
Radios
Safety goggles
Fire extinguisher
Airfame assembled
ESCs/flight controller wired
Radio equipment tested
Channel mappings
Flight modes
Motors tested
Wiring secured (Harnessing)
End to end test (neglecting props)
All components not on the airframe that are required should be in the flight box (e.g. props & prop nuts)
Airfame payload
Spare parts
Props
Airframe components (landing struts, arms, etc)
Hardware to assemble these components
Flight Code Flashed
Ground station Software updated

Pre-Departure Checklist

Check battery status
Charge if required, otherwise place into flight box
Systems test
Check flight controller orientation
Check motor spin & rotation direction
Check transmitter mappings
Verify communication links (VTX/RX, Controller, Groundstation)
Verify the mission planner is logging data
Only attach props directly before flight (keep off at all other times)
Get snacks
Mission Briefing
Read the flight plan to the team (that was made a week ago)
Purpose of flight
Plan of action
Success criteria
Delegate and brief on flight line roles
Safety Briefing
Key flight characteristics to observe
Key system characteristics to observe
Measurements to be made

Pre-flight Safety Checklist

Air Frame
Check all antennas, ensuring they are secure and in good condition
Check the battery emplacement and secure attachment and ensure there are no cracks
Check that all lights are operating normally
Check that all sensors are secured and clear of any obstructions
Check that the GPS is receiving satellites and providing a navigation solution
For rotary aircraft:
Inspect top and bottom of air frame arms for cracks, loose parts, or signs of damage
Propellers / Rotors
Ensure propeller is secured
Check for nicks, chips or cracks
Ensure prop direction is correct
Batteries
Inspect to ensure there is no signs of swelling, external leaking or other defects
Battery wiring and connectors from the battery are connected securely
Batteries (and spares) are adequately charged
Wires are not pinched
Control Station / Receivers / Transmitter
The battery and spare batteries if required are adequately charged
Control Station device and cables are properly connected and functioning
All flight interfaces are functioning normally
Safety
Good visibility and safe wind speed
Surrounding is free of obstacles
Crew far from drone
General Site Survey
Are there other people on the property
Ground Recording / drone footage on
Autopilot
Control surfaces respond to autopilot in the correct manner
Transitions between flight modes have expected effect
Return-to-home systems, if present, have been configured

Post-Flight Checklist

Item

Owner

Item

Owner

Use Flight-Post Mortem to Debrief

@Aidan Bowers (Deactivated) @Daniel Puratich

Discard of damaged batteries

N/A

Discharge used batteries to storage voltage

@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 Complete RCA Documentation

@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

WRESTRC

 

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