2023-10-21 Flight Tests

Owned by Daniel Puratich
Last updated: 2023-11-26
10 min read

Introduction

  • Houston Pilot Training 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

  • Houston Autonomy Camera Payload Flight

    • Flight test $200 CV Camera Payload and confirm images look as expected

  • Tubie Pilot Trainning

    • Flying on EFS M1 code again, with a new airframe

    • @Aidan Bowers (Deactivated)

Flight Test was requested on October 15th as a part of AEAC runup plan by @Daniel Puratich .

  • Approval from team

  • Week before checklist

  • Morning of checklist

  • Gather at the bay

  • pre-departure checklist

  • Pre flight briefing

  • Flight Test

  • debrief

Resources

List contains all possible human resources available for flight test support! Please add yourself to this if you want to go to the flight test and follow the format!

  • @Daniel Puratich

    • Role (what you will do at the flight test):

      • Flight Test Lead

      • Flight Test Director

      • Safety

      • Documentation Director

      • Electrical

    • Justification (why you’re qualified)

      • TC Basic

      • US HAM

      • Exec Director

      • Flight test Requestor

    • Availability (times on this date you can be at flight test)

      • All day

  • @Amy Hu

    • Role

      • Autonomy representative

    • Justification

      • Autonomy Lead

    • Availability:

      • All day

  • @Aidan Bowers (Deactivated)

    • Role:

      • Dualie Pilot

    • Justification:

      • pilot

      • tc basic

    • availability

      • morning until 11:30am.

  • @Neel Patel

    • Role

      • Electrical representative

    • Justification

      • Electrical member

    • Availability

      • All day

  • @Georgia Vachon Westerlund

    • Role

      • Photographer

  • @Nathan Green

    • Role

      • Pilot

      • Mechanical

      • Telemetry testing

    • Justification

      • basic certificate

      • mechancial lead

  • Conall and Alison will not be present (and will not have their vehicle).

  • Neel’s Car (6 passenger seats)

WRESTRC Booked, see Calendar , for Pegasus flight .

Worst case we do 43°28'23.4"N 80°34'01.8"W as subject to weather constraints regarding timeline for Pegasus.

Logistic

Trip 1:

  • member: @Aidan Bowers (Deactivated) , @Hardy Yu , @Daniel Puratich , @Amy Hu , @Vibhinn Gautam

  • Vehicle: Aidan’s personal car

  • flight test: tubie no.2, autonomy houston flight test, pilot training @ WRESTRC

  • time: meet @ bay by 9 am (or even eariler for houston setup and battery charging), we anticipate we get it done before 11:30 am

 

Trip2:

  • member - @Nathan Green , @Hardy Yu , @Daniel Puratich , @Georgia Vachon Westerlund , @Neel Patel , @Conall Kingshott

  • Vehicle: Neel’s Personal car, Dodge Caravan

  • flight test - pegasus hover @ 43°28'23.4"N 80°34'01.8"W

  • time - start doing preflight checklist @ 11:30 and we can take our time to avoid bad things from happening

Task 1: Raspberry Pi/ Camera Testing w/ Houston

Objective: Verify the camera colour calibration and system integration

 

Task 2: Tubie Take off

Objective: Verify the reinforced airframe and try to fly longer this time

 

Takes 3: Pilot Training

Objective: Train new pilot @Hardy Yu

 

Task 4: Pegasus hover

Objective: Verify the system integration by flying pegasus over the air

Procedure

Raspberry Pi can collect images with the $200 CV Camera
Test the imaging repository with the Raspberry Pi and confirm images are taken and stored on the SD card
Edit the rc.local and ensure that image collection code runs on Raspberry Pi startup
Raspberry Pi can be powered onboard the drone. Need help from the Electrical team.
Raspberry Pi and $200 CV Camera are mounted onto Houston. The $200 CV Camera needs to be pointing in the downards direction.. Need help from the Mechanical team.
Flight test location booked
Drone Registration -
Houston
Tubie
Pegasus → flying on vanny registration
Ensure we have good props for Pegasus after last tests crash
Telemetry Verified Functional - @Nathan Green to verify with new LTE connectors
@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 from last time
@Georgia Vachon Westerlund uploading past test images to onedrive media
@Conall Kingshott potentially slop on landing gear
@Hardy Yu purchase request for more crossfire Rxs
Pilot scheduled - @Daniel Puratich
Test Plan - @Daniel Puratich
Initial frame parameters set - @Nathan Green
Verify we have wrestrc card
Systems test - @Daniel Puratich
Check flight controller orientation - @Nathan Green
Check motor spin & rotation direction - @Nathan Green
Check DSHOT configuration (DS300, bidir?)
Motors plugged into correct pins on pixhawk
Verify motors 1,2,3,4 in motor test go in the correct order
Verify motors in a,b,c,d configuration is correct order
verify rotational response of motors is correct (with more than just audio), move the drone around and check each motors reponse individually
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 - @Hardy Yu to decide, @Daniel Puratich
Assigning drivers - @Daniel Puratich Done see above.
Renting any needed equipment (trailer? generator? etc.) - @Daniel Puratich not needed.
Setting Failsafes, @Nathan Green
normal failsafe set to land
disabled battery failsafe, dont want it to randomly land
GCS failsafe set to always land after 5 seconds of no GCS
Confirm the Raspberry Pi is securely attached to the drone.
Confirm the image collection software runs when the Raspberris powered on.
@Nathan Green configuring the GPS so both GPS’s are used
@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 batteries
Transmitter batteries - 70% on transmitter
Battery tester/indicator
On-site kit together - @Daniel Puratich announcing checklist
First Aid Kit
Ground station if applicable
Laptop
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 ties
Velcro
Radios
Safety goggles - not needed
Fire extinguisher - we dont have one, theyre out of our budget gg
Spare foam - not needed
hot glue gun w/ hot glue stick - not bringing that
harnesses
ratchet set
battery removed for velcro (thin 3d printed thing) for pegasus
Wrestrc
Airfame assembled
ESCs/flight controller wired
Radio equipment tested
Channel mappings
Flight modes
Motors tested
Check DSHOT configuration (DS300, bidir?)
Motors plugged into correct pins on pixhawk
Verify motors 1,2,3,4 in motor test go in the correct order
Verify motors in a,b,c,d configuration is correct order
verify rotational response of motors is correct (with more than just audio), move the drone around and check each motors response individually
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 - Raspberry Pi + $200 Camera
Mount to airframe pointing downwards (exact angle doesn’t really matter)
Spare parts
Props
Houston props
Peggy props
Airframe components (landing struts, arms, etc)
wings nuts - n/a
prop nuts
any detached components such as angle mount - none needed
Hardware to assemble these components
Spare Electronics - we dont have much
ESCs
Motors
Flight controllers
Receiver
Ground station Software updated
Take the WREST RC entrance card - must do!!
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
Ensure pilot with @Hardy Yu for support
Takeoff in stabilize
fly in stabilize
land
battery swap?
repeat
Upload Logs
Remove Props
Check SD card and view images taken from the Raspberry Pi
Ensure that pictures were taken during flight
Ensure camera quality is good
If the camera quality is not good then adjust camera settings and try again
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.
Motor test with props
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
Check mapping and orientation correct
hover ~30-50cm above ground briefly
go up and do half-deflection control checks
Takeoff in stabilize mode
Stabilize mode full stick deflection tests
switch to althold
full deflection control check
Switch to poshold/loiter if all ok.
land (can be done sooner if anything wack)
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
Autonomy Camera Mounted
Raspberry Pi is powered on the drone
Autonomy image collection code runs on RPi startup
Autonomy Tasks
Connect to Raspberry Pi + camera using Camlink
Verify camera is working (image is displaying)
Set up landing pad #1 on grass
Set up landing pad #2 on pavement
Ensure camera focus is set to 30m
2 landing pad (blue side facing up) are positioned on the ground
Hover over landing pad #1 at height of ~30m to allow camera to take photos
Hover over landing pad #2 at height of ~30m to allow camera to take photos
Upload Logs
Remove Props
Autonomy Tasks
Dismount Raspberry Pi + camera
Check SD card for saved images
Check saved images for purpling
If this is the case change camera settings and try again. Test different camera settings and see which one is the best.
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
Inspect top and bottom of air frame arms for cracks, loose parts, or signs of damage
Inspect electronics for damage
Ensure wires are securely connected and boards are secured
Motors
Ensure all motors free-spin correctly & motor directions are correct
Verify control surfaces are secure, and deflect in the expected direction
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
Test flight characteristics of aircraft
Perform standard, simple flight maneuvers: (Takeoff, figure of eight, circle, approach, landing)
Inspect aircraft & electronics for damage
Unplug and remove damage
drive back to bay
post mortem
Analytics added to this document
action items delegated
Autonomy Tasks
Dismount Raspberry Pi + camera
Check SD card for saved images
Check saved images for purpling and see which camera settings yield best results
Make note of the best camera settings.
batteries discharge is delegated -
batteries at storage voltage confirmed
Upload logs, @Nathan Green
Confirm wrestrc card is back in the holder

If things go poorly, flight test director should command (this is stated to avoid bystander effect):

  • Fire

    • Call 911

    • give location

  • Property Damage

    • if in e7, email Graeme

    • if at WRESTRC, email them

  • Fly away

    • call TC

  • Injury

    • first aid

    • call 911

 

Debrief

After the flight test summarize the timeline of what happened. With timestamps if timestamps aren't given in checklist?

 

Tubie Flight Test

  • 10:15 got tubie fully setup and attempted to flight Tubie

  • @Aidan pilot, @Hardy threw the plane. we failed taking off the plane two times in a row. Both attempts, the plane lost power right after it is been thrown.

 

Pegasus Flight

  • Left around 12:45

  • takeoff in stab

  • Pitch was inverted

  • landed fixed on controller

  • took off stab

  • drone was backwards

  • barely took off

  • landed

  • rotated drone

  • tok off in stab

  • hovverred 10 sec

  • landed

  • took off in loiter

  • hoverred 20 secs

  • did full stick deflection every direction

  • full throttle

  • full yaw

  • landed

  • done

  • back at 1:43

Nathan uploaded logs. Hover 11 A, 30% throttle.

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

  • it worked

  • good photos

  • had all tools

  • ran into no issues with LTE to RFD switchover

    • ran RFDs bc LTE antenna adapters not in yet

  • good authority

  • hoverred at 30% throttle

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

  • We need to decrease yaw rate in loiter bc we lose altitude, it is too fast.

  • drone was placed backwards initially

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

Raspberry Pi Powered w/ 12V

What happened:

  • The autonomy houston flight test is scheduled on Oct 21st. The autonomy team got the software ready and installed in the Pi, mech ppl help mounting the camera and pi onto the drone, but the power to the Pi wasn’t done before Oct 21st

  • 8:30am Oct 21st, @Hardy Yu @Amy Hu who come to the flight test decided to solider the power for the Raspberry Pi themselves in a rush to meet the flight test timeline. @Hardy Yu proposed the plan of splitting out the power from the xt60 output of the Holybro PM02D to power the PDB and Pi at the same time. The splited xt60 connect to a usb c breakout board and then power up the Pi. @Daniel Puratich arrived around 9 and helped on the soldering process and reviewed solder joints. We powered the Pi without it ever been tested with multimeter and power supply. However, later on we found out the xt60 output from PM02D is the battery voltage (12V) and that fried the Pi (rated for 5V).

What we should do to avoid similiar triggic from happening in the future:

  • Any newly created electronics should be tested before used

  • Schematic makes things much easier to review

  • If flight tests prerequisite aren’t meet, we should really consider delay or cancel the flight test

 

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

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

@Nathan Green FFT the flight logs for oscillations