/
2023-10-14: Pegasus Hover, ZP3.5 M1, & Pilot Trainning

2023-10-14: Pegasus Hover, ZP3.5 M1, & Pilot Trainning

Owned by Hardy Yu, created
Last updated: 2023-12-02 by Yuchen Lin
9 min read

Introduction

  • Houston Flight:

    • Provide new pilot @Hardy Yu with flight training time.

    • Houston for pilot training in stabilize mode

  • Pegasus Hover Test:

    • Ensure Pegasus flies without oscillations in stabilize, altitude hold, and position hold flight modes.

    • Pegasus successfully hover and under the control from pilot

  • Tubie Flight:

    • Verify ZP3.5 software is functional for fixed wing flight

    • Tubie form aircraft installed with ZP3.5 firmware is able to fly

Flight Test was requested on October 10th as a part of AEAC runup plan by @Daniel Puratich .

This timeline is Heavily Weather Dependent and consequently dates and times will not be explicitly specified, merely the order of events. @Hardy Yu and @Daniel Puratich leading schedule coordination.

  • Week before checklist

  • Morning of checklist

  • Gather at the bay

  • pre-departure checklist

  • Pre flight briefing

  • Drive to location

  • Pre-flight Houston

  • Houston Training Flight

  • Pre-flight Pegasus

  • Pegasus Flight

  • Pre-flight Tubie

  • Tubie flight

  • debrief

Resources

List contains all possible human resources available for flight test support!

  • @Daniel Puratich

    • Role:

      • Flight Test Lead

      • Flight Test Director

      • Safety

      • Tubie Pilot

      • Documentation Director

      • Electrical

    • Justification

      • TC Basic

      • US HAM

      • Exec Director

      • Flight test Requestor

  • @Nathan Green

    • Role

      • Pegasus Pilot

      • Houston Pilot

      • Driver

    • Justification:

      • TC Basic

      • Flight Experience

      • SDC approved driver

  • @Aaditya Chaudhary

    • Role

      • Tubie Pilot

    • Justification:

      • TC Basic

      • ZP3.5 / EFS Lead

  • @Hardy Yu

    • Role:

      • Flight Test Coordinator

      • Houston Pilot

    • Justification:

      • TC Basic

      • Coordination Experience

  • @Aidan Bowers (Deactivated)

    • Role:

      • Tubie Pilot

        Pegasus Pilot

    • Justification:

      • TC Basic

      • Flight Experience

  • @Yuchen Lin

    • Role:

      • Telemetry Manager (RFD900)

    • Justification:

      • Experience with RFD900 configuration and setup

      • ZP3.5 software developer

  • @Conall Kingshott

    • Role:

      • Driver

      • Mechanical Manager

    • Justification:

      • Drivers license

      • Mech Lead

  • @Alison Thompson

    • Role:

      • Mechanical Member

    • Justification:

      • Experienced Mech Member

  • @Georgia Westerlund

    • Role:

      • Photographer

    • Justifications:

      • Photography Experience

      • Ops + Media Lead

  • @Ayoung Eun

    • Role:

      • Tubie Manager (Nucleo/Software)

    • Justification:

      • EFS lead

      • ZP3.5 software developer

  • @Nathan Green Personal Vehicle (1 driver + 4 passengers + aircraft room)

    • @Daniel Puratich

    • @Georgia Westerlund

    • @Ayoung Eun

    • SDC Rev 4 will not be available

  • @Conall Kingshott Personal Vehicle (1 driver + 3 passengers + carrying room)

    • @Hardy Yu

    • @Alison Thompson

We do not have our usual WRESTRC booked. @Hardy Yu decided upon 43°28'23.4"N 80°34'01.8"W and approved following discussion in Discord!

Procedure

Flight test location booked - @Hardy Yu picked location, not needed to book it
Drone Registration - @Anthony Luo driving discussion in Discord, https://uwarg-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FT/pages/2173436052 - Pegasus assigned registration number
Telemetry Verified Functional - @Yuchen Lin Assigned by @Daniel Puratich early in week, @Daniel Puratich setup LTE, RFD removed from drone. We are using exclusively LTE, no RFDs on the drone.
Bolts Loctited - @Conall Kingshott Assigned by @Daniel Puratich early in week, verified by @Nathan Green
Pilot scheduled - @Daniel Puratich scheduling this with @Nathan Green @Hardy Yu @Aaditya Chaudhary @Aidan Bowers (Deactivated) with input from @Anthony Luo see Discord
Test Plan - @Hardy Yu and @Daniel Puratich Working together on this, weather dependent! This should also include the flight path where applicable, @Daniel Puratich redid this entire conf gg
Install anti-spark XT90s - @Nolan Haines assigned by @Daniel Puratich early in week. Not completed, not neccessary for this flight test, added as action item
Install XT90 covers for unsure battery slots @Daniel Puratich completed
Install battery velcro @Nathan Green
Initial frame parameters set
Verify Tubie failsafe is functional, @Ayoung Eun @Yuchen Lin writing code for this
Systems test
Check flight controller orientation - @Nathan Green
Check motor spin & rotation direction - @Nathan Green
Check DSHOT configuration (DS300, bidir?)
Check transmitter mappings
Verify communication links
VTX/RX - no video on any of these aircrafts
Controller
Groundstation
Ammeter working - @Nathan Green
Verify data logging - @Nathan Green checked SD card, its working
Transportation logistics finalized
Booking SDC vehicles - @Daniel Puratich completed Rav 4 Booked
Assigning drivers - @Daniel Puratich Done see above.
Renting any needed equipment (trailer? generator? etc.) - @Daniel Puratich not needed.
Setting Failsafes, @Nathan Green
Set Pegasus failsafes set to land or disarm (DO NOT ACCEPT RTL until loiter verified) - @Nathan Green has set it to “always land”
disabled battery failsafe, dont want it to randomly land
GCS failsafe set to always land after 5 seconds of no GCS
@Nathan Green configuring the GPS so both GPS’s are used (one was disabled during the spin up)
@Nathan Green Setting the controller profile on the radio master
SDC Vehicle key collected → machine shop is closed, we will not be able to grab the key @Hardy Yu
Batteries Planned for (DON'T LEAVE CHARGING OVERNIGHT)
Drone batteries & spares - 2 sets for pegasus, 3 houston/tubie batteries
Transmitter batteries - 70% on transmitter
Battery tester/indicator
On-site kit together - @Daniel Puratich announcing checklist
First Aid Kit
Ground station / Laptop - none
Antenna / Receivers
Transmitter
Extra Water
Power cords / Extension cables
Wrenches - none needed
Allen keys (metric ones) - three sets
Knives
Tape
Rope/string - not needed
Zip/Velcro ties
Radios
Safety goggles - not needed
Fire extinguisher - we dont have one, theyre out of our budget gg
Spare foam
hot glue gun w/ hot glue stick - not bringing that
harnesses
ratchet set
battery removed for velcro (thin 3d printed thing)
Airfame assembled
@Conall Kingshott has loctied and added washers, legs wobble a bit but its fine
ESCs/flight controller wired
Radio equipment tested
Channel mappings
Flight modes
Motors tested
Wiring secured (Harnessing)
End-to-end test (neglecting props)
Props require a little gold ring which we did not use during the strap down test, may have caused extra vibrations.
Check the center of gravity - CG is off quite a bit but because only running two batteries and much less hardware then anticipated it will be reasonable for this test
All components not on the airframe that are required should be in the flight box (e.g. props & prop nuts)
Airframe payload - no payload
Spare parts
Props
Airframe components (landing struts, arms, etc)
wings nuts
prop nuts
any detached components such as angle mount - none needed
props for other aircrafts such as Houston - Houston props
tubie props
houston props
Hardware to assemble these components
Electronics
ESCs
Motors
Flight controllers
Receiver
Flight Code Flashed - @Hardy Yu done
Ground station Software updated
Take the WREST RC entrance card - not going to wrestrc
Only attach props directly before flight (keep off at all other times)
Get snacks - na, short test
Mission Briefing - by @Hardy Yu
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
“Knock off” criteria (anyone can call)
Specify Pegasus Flight area planned, hard land and disarm boundaries set. Ensure visual observers are aware of this and can visually verify boundaries. - @Hardy Yu
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
Inspect top and bottom of air frame arms for cracks, loose parts, or signs of damage
Landing Gear
Check landing gear is secure
Inspect skids or wheels, especially attachment points
Motors
ensure all motors free-spin correctly
Ensure wires secured and not at risk of shorting
Ensure motor mounts secure.
Propellers / Rotors
Ensure propeller is secured
Check for nicks, chips or cracks
Ensure prop direction is correct
Ensure prop mounting is secure
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
Takeoff in stabilize
fly in stabilize
land
battery swap?
repeat
Upload Logs
Remove Props
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
Inspect top and bottom of air frame arms for cracks, loose parts, or signs of damage
Landing Gear
Check landing gear is secure
Inspect skids or wheels, especially attachment points
Motors
ensure all motors free-spin correctly
Ensure wires secured and not at risk of shorting
Ensure motor mounts secure.
Propellers / Rotors
Ensure propeller is secured
Check for nicks, chips or cracks
Ensure prop direction is correct
Ensure prop mounting is secure
gold rings to props
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
Takeoff in stab, hover ~30-50cm above ground briefly
bring drone back down
Look at logs to make sure no huge vibration/oscillation
Takeoff in stabilize mode
go up and do half-deflection control checks
Land
look for oscillation in logs
Takeoff in stabilize mode
Stabilize mode full stick deflection tests
Land
check logs
Takeoff in stab
switch to althold
full deflection control check
Switch to poshold if all ok.
Check mapping and orientation correct
land
Upload Logs
Remove Props
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
Inspect top and bottom of air frame arms for cracks, loose parts, or signs of damage
Landing Gear
Check landing gear is secure
Inspect skids or wheels, especially attachment points
Motors
ensure all motors free-spin correctly
Ensure wires secured and not at risk of shorting
Ensure motor mounts secure.
Propellers / Rotors
Ensure propeller is secured
Check for nicks, chips or cracks
Ensure prop direction is correct
Ensure prop mounting is secure
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
throw drone
Fly for ~1 minutes in circles
Do not crash
land in brush
Upload Logs
Remove Props
drive back to bay
post mortem
Analytics added to this document
action items delegated
batteries discharge

Debrief

  • @Hardy Yu to ensure telemetry data we get is uploaded in accordance withData Handling

  • @Georgia Westerlund to ensure photos are uploaded to Media Folders (Photos & Videos)

  • Links to uploaded data should be linked to here!

@Daniel Puratich Directing this section of flight test post mortem!

  • LTE telemetry works

    • doesnt cut out like the rfd did

    • is very fast

    • logs saved to sd card on pixhawk

  • lack of expensive damage

    • sub 100 dollars worth of damage

    • pegasus airframe is fine

  • zeropilot software worked!

    • EFS M1 Satisfied

  • good photos & videos

    • over 300 photos

    • videos of all flights

  • Checklists were written and followed carefully during flight test and day before flight test

  • Pilot (@Daniel Puratich) review of dual motor style tubie foam plane

    • only experience prior to this with fixed wing was simulator

    • plane was as responsive as the snappy models is the real flight evolution simulator

      • do not play with the under powered or heavy models

      • it was pretty surprising because it doesn't look like it should be so responsive

    • 80% throttle was too much on takeoff, the 50% advice was very good

    • with two motors plane had a lot of thrust, felt like it could fly with 25% throttle

    • was a pretty windy day but still pre responsive

    • think that wing spar would’ve helped with controllability

    • The folding that occurred in the video was when banking out of the wind

@Daniel Puratich Directing this section of flight test post mortem!

  • Confluence document for this flight test should’ve been executed sooner instead of a few days before

    • Coordinating tasks via discord was effective, but not as clear as it couldve been

  • Houston didnt have transmitter installed and couldnt fly.

    • we need another receiver to avoid modifying our aircraft

@Daniel Puratich Directing this section of flight test post mortem!

  • Pegasus Crashed

    • flipped when on ground or shortly after takeoff

    • damage

      • two props are chewed up

      • sma conns on lte hat broken

    • Root cause was motor order set incorrectly

      • Need to ensure that motor order is correct during motor test, add to checklist

      • Was validated by hearing motors spin when rotating aircraft on ground

      • We changed motor direction at the flight test location we did not catch the motor order being incorrect

        • Motor order A,b,c,d & 1,2,3,4 should be added to checklist

      • For the record, this time around we did perform multiple motor tests in the bay and multiple motor tests at the field as required by thr above checklists, however, none of us realized this was awry. We also adjusted drone orientation in the bay to gauge response but were judging by ear and incorrectly analyzed that it seemed correct. More attention needs to be paid during these steps.

  • Tubie Crash

    • Wing folded in half when turning out of directly into the wind

    • Tubie airframe types need a wingspar instead of just foam

All of these major issues should be addressed via Root Cause Analysis Forms:

@Daniel Puratich Directing this section of flight test post mortem!

@Nolan Haines Schematic for and delegating manufacturing of anti-spark connector configuration
@Daniel Puratich to update template with all the new things he added to this template this time
@Nathan Green add to Onedrive logs
@Georgia Westerlund uploading to onedrive media
@Conall Kingshott slop on landing gear
@Hardy Yu purchase request for more crossfire Rxs
@Ayoung Eun add wingspar to future tubie’s, picking up rulers

Related content