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I'm part-way through building a plane at the moment, which will play host to a small quadcopter with its own video feed, so this story feels a lot like whats go

by ibisum 12y ago

I'm part-way through building a plane at the moment, which will play host to a small quadcopter with its own video feed, so this story feels a lot like whats going on in my workshop. The intention is to build an automated system that will send the plane to a location, drop the quad, do a video survey, pick the quad back up, and fly back. This is purely for hobby purposes, as I am very interested in automatic flight systems, and while its too late for me to pursue a career in aerospace proper, its at least a means to fulfill my dreams of having such devices under my control. I think that the next 5 or 10 years of innovation in aerospace is going to come from the RC/UAV hobbyists who are pushing the boundaries of drone technology. Already we are seeing in the RC world massive leaps in drone automation, which have immediate uses in the real world, and it doesn't look like its going to stop. There's not a day that goes by where someone hasn't released an innovative new aspect of drone technology - whether its flight, construction, recovery, or application.

bsilvereagle 12y ago
What's the wingspan on your plane? I built one (~36") that had two quads nested inside the wings, the wing bottoms opened up, causing the plane to go nose up, the quads slid out, the wings shut, and normal flight was resumed.
- fit2rule 12y ago
  My current wing design is 1.5meters wide, and will have the quad mounted under the fuse at slightly-forward of CG. Trim will reconfigure for the added weight, but I'm using a small quad so the pitch trim shouldn't be too detrimental, but there are other solutions to this problem too (moving ballast). Its still early days yet, but I hope to have maiden in the next few weeks.
jbattle 12y ago
That sounds really amazing. Have you thought through the details of the rendezvous & docking? Is that as hard as it sounds? I imagine the mothership would need to be travelling what 25 mph? 20? Or is the absolute horizontal speed not that big of an issue because it's the relative movement between the two that matters?
- fit2rule 12y ago
  Rendezvous and docking are hard problems, and at the moment I don't have a solution, but am actively thinking about it. ;) It may be that I'll use a magnetic docking system to avoid mechanical complications during a very tricky flight maneuver which will require the quad to hold a fixed position while the plane lines up, but this is not as simple as it sounds. Actually, its the hardest part, and I'm leaving it for last.

by ibisum 12y ago

bsilvereagle 12y ago

What's the wingspan on your plane? I built one (~36") that had two quads nested inside the wings, the wing bottoms opened up, causing the plane to go nose up, the quads slid out, the wings shut, and normal flight was resumed.

fit2rule 12y ago
My current wing design is 1.5meters wide, and will have the quad mounted under the fuse at slightly-forward of CG. Trim will reconfigure for the added weight, but I'm using a small quad so the pitch trim shouldn't be too detrimental, but there are other solutions to this problem too (moving ballast). Its still early days yet, but I hope to have maiden in the next few weeks.

jbattle 12y ago

That sounds really amazing. Have you thought through the details of the rendezvous & docking? Is that as hard as it sounds? I imagine the mothership would need to be travelling what 25 mph? 20? Or is the absolute horizontal speed not that big of an issue because it's the relative movement between the two that matters?

fit2rule 12y ago
Rendezvous and docking are hard problems, and at the moment I don't have a solution, but am actively thinking about it. ;) It may be that I'll use a magnetic docking system to avoid mechanical complications during a very tricky flight maneuver which will require the quad to hold a fixed position while the plane lines up, but this is not as simple as it sounds. Actually, its the hardest part, and I'm leaving it for last.