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July 23, 2023 Flight Test

July 23, 2023 Flight Test

Owned by Hardy Yu, created
Last updated: 2023-07-30 by Mark Do
6 min read

Make sure to update the Title following the format “Jan 01, 2020 Flight Test”

 Flight Preparation

Requested by:

Required Sub-teams

Mech
Electrical
EFS
CV
Operation
Sys-Int

Requested Date

Jan 25, 2023

Location and Time

@WRESTRC from 12 - 6 pm

Summary & Goals

Test QR mission planner integration & autotune an pitch/roll & potentially first milestone of ZP3.5

Approved?

Yes / Pending / No

 Required Persons During Test

Name

Phone #

Role

Reason

Name

Phone #

Role

Reason

 @Anthony Luo

 

Flight Test Lead

  • Creating documentation

  • Booking the test flight

  • Creating a thread in #flight-staging

 @Anthony Luo @Megan Spee

 

 Pilot in Command

  • Aircraft preparation

  • Filling out documentation

 

 

Safety

  • Making sure everyone is safe

  • Bringing Med kit

@Tong Zhang @Mark Do @Rosanne Zhu @Arunav Munjal

 

Autonomy Rep

  • Getting Jetson ready for logging footage

  • Knowing how to test QR code integration

 

 

EFS Rep

 

@Nathan Green

 

Mech Rep

 

 

 

Ops Rep

 

 Other Attendees

Name

Role

Name

Role

 

 

 

 

Drivers & Seat Arrangement

Driver

Vehicle Type

Passenger

Driver

Vehicle Type

Passenger

@Anthony Luo

SDC RAV4

 

@Megan Spee

5 seat

 

 

 

 

 

 Success criteria

Tests

Success Criteria

Requirements

Outcome

Tests

Success Criteria

Requirements

Outcome

CV camera footage logging

  • CV camera could successfully log footage

  • Right video color

  • know why we failed to log video last time

  • We will take landing pad

  • Need to investigate into why the camera fail to log video last time

  • CV Camera successfully logged footage

  • Video colour NOT correct- more purple than before

  • 1st test flight SD card did not log footage. Checked Jetson after 1st test flight found that run.sh execution on startup was disabled (even though this was specifically enabled before test flight #1)

  • Rebooted the Jetson before 2nd test flight SD did log footage, meaning run.sh successfully executed on startup.

QR code mission planner integration

 

  • Software flashed into the ground station

  • We plan to run this in simulation with RealFlight first.

Autotune on pitch/roll

 

 

 

ZP3.5 first milestone check

  • FLY

  • Ground test need to be done before Sunday

  • Aircraft assembled with firmware updated

  • FC paired with a Radio controller (TX12)

 

Testing Timeline

Date/Time

Action

Date/Time

Action

 

Aircraft Assembly

If aircraft assembly is complicated, outline dates of various milestones that should be met to ensure we don't rush to complete work at the last minute.

 

Pre-flight Preparation

Feel free to not come at 9 if you don’t have a lot workload. During this time get snack if needed

July 23, 10 am

Required persons for preflight preparation show up at bay

Flight test lead breifly assign task for preparation work

July 23, 11:30 am

Flight brief from flight test lead

July 23, 12 pm

Loading onto the Car

Take your water bottle with you. Go washroom before we leave!

July 23, 1 pm

Drive to the test ground

July 23, 1-2:45 pm

Flight Testing

July 23, 3 pm

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

Drone Registration

Drone Registration Number:

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
Renting any needed equipment (trailer? generator? etc.)

Day-Before To-Do List

SDC Vehicle key collected (if required)
Batteries Planned for (DON'T LEAVE CHARGING OVERNIGHT)
Drone batteries & spares
Transmitter batteries
Battery tester/indicator
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
Spare foam
hot glue gun w/ hot glue stick
harnesses
Airfame assembled
ESCs/flight controller wired
Radio equipment tested
Channel mappings
Flight modes
Motors tested
Wiring secured (Harnessing)
End-to-end test (neglecting props)
Check the center of gravity
All components not on the airframe that are required should be in the flight box (e.g. props & prop nuts)
Airframe payload
Spare parts
Props
Airframe components (landing struts, arms, etc)
wings nuts
prop nuts
any detached components such as angle mount
props for other aircrafts such as Houston
Hardware to assemble these components
Electronics
ESCs
Motors
Flight controllers
Receiver
Flight Code Flashed
Ground station Software updated

Pre-Departure Checklist

Take the WREST RC entrance card
Grab Pre-departure Items
Battery charger and associated cables(30tx to 60tx)
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 fixed wing aircraft, Check:
Wings, ensuring they are securely attached to fuselage
Wing leading edge surfaces
Top and bottom of wing surfaces
Wing tip surfaces
Read of wing and all flight control surfaces for freedom of movement, security and any skin damage
For rotary aircraft:
Inspect top and bottom of air frame arms for cracks, loose parts, or signs of damage
Check fluid levels and ensure no leaks if applicable
Control Surfaces
Ensure Elevator moves correctly
Ensure Ailerons move correctly
Ensure Rudder moves correctly
Landing Gear
Check landing gear is secure
Inspect skids or wheels, especially attachment points
Power plant
Cowling or motor casing
Security of engine mounts
Presence of any cracks
All wiring and connectors, ensure no cracks, loose connectors, or chaffing
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

ALL MEMBERS PRESENT

Discard of damaged batteries

 

Discharge used batteries for better longevity

 

Flight Test Post Mortem

Required equipment to

  1. WARG Laptop (w/ CAMLINK and OBS) or preferably a portable monitor

  2. HDMI cable, USB Splitter, Mouse and Keyboard

Before 1st Test Flight:

  • Plugged in HDMI into Jetson from Laptop & used OBS to view jetson screen

    • This is harder to use than if a monitor was connected directly, since OBS had input delay & poor cropping / solution

  • Plugged in Mouse & Keyboard into Jetson to get to command line

  • Checked to make sure that run.sh was enabled

  • Checked to see that SD Card was being logged onto

  • Rebooted Jetson

1st Test Flight:

  • SD card did not store any footage

Between 1st and 2nd Test Flight:

  • Checking Jetson after 1st test flight found that run.sh execution on startup was disabled (even though this was specifically enabled before test flight #1

  • Re-enabled run.sh to run on startup

  • Rebooted Jetson

  • Checked the Jetson’s file system to see that SD started logging footage again, meaning run.sh successfully executed on startup after this most recent reboot

  • Left Jetson as is for the 2nd Test Flight

2nd Test Flight:

  • CV Camera successfully logged footage to SD card

  • Video more purple than previous flight test, which led to poor landing pad detection model performance

  • Video Logged Successfully

  • Need to re-tune the CV camera to remove the purple hue

  • Investigate why SD card was not storing any footage- if issue came from run.sh not running on startup or some other source

RCA for Red Items

Create a RCA and keep it as a child page.

Action Items

Other Resources

Booking WRESTRC Field

WRESTRC

 

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