The generation of embedded aero tables from an automated process which uses Digital Datcom has now been checked. The phased approach was used. The longitudinal dynamics were checked first through effectively flying the glider ballistic in the pitch only. Once expected results were achieved, an initial sideslip (over 10 deg) was introduced at the start of the simulation causing the excitation of the lateral and directional aerodynamics. The checking of these was more tricky as one needs to have a good understanding of the geometrical effects of fixed-wing airplane on its aerodynamics. Below show some plots of the angle of attack and sideslip in a disturbed ballistic trajectory whereby all channels of the aircraft are excited. Given that now we have 6DOF simulation model with a complete aerodynamic model, flight control design and introduction of actuator dynamics can now proceed.

We've been having quite bad (windy) weather that It has been almost impossible to get the glider up in the air to gather more flight data . But nonetheless, I managed to analyse the data that I have come to some interesting conclusion on the behaviour of the aircraft in flight. The post-filtering of the IMU euler angles prior to controller design only add approximately 4/10th of the second in lag (guestimate). The servo limiter which I set on all channels is which what a normal flight actuation is experienced (considering wind factors). It's quite clear from the graphs that GPS velocity is expected to change with aircraft pitch although the nature of the sensitivity over a 1Hz update was not expected. The noise factor in launch in both roll and pitch channels shows that an alternative method needs to be established for a take-off and landing autopilot mode. There seems to be a considerable lag in pitch servo input and pitch change. This makes sense for the fact that t...

So I got some flight time under my belt yesterday. I must say there's nothing better than seeing your flying skills improve with time ( I can't wait to get more batteries so I can get my heli in the air as well). Anyway, back to the glider autopilot . Managed to get the roll autopilot to stabilize the aircraft which was a great feat. Although because the glider is inherently unstable during banking (due to the battery pack sitting on top of the wing) the roll autopilot relies heavily in controlling the rates produced by the aircraft. This is still a problem as roll rate doesn't yet have a strong influence in the control loop . The same can be said about the pitch controller (which I had to land the aircraft, upload new code and launch again). Due to the lack of control on the pitch rate, the phugoid mode of the aircraft is activated and the aircraft goes into an unstable dives which eventually would cause a crash. The use of the safety switch mechanism logic has ...

An aircraft separation incident between an unmanned aerial vehicle and crop duster highlights the challenges with having a diverse mix of aircraft operating in the same airspace. On 12 September 2013 the pilot of an Ayres S2R commenced aerial agricultural spraying operations on a property near Horsham, Victoria. At about the same time, the operator of a UAV, Sensefly eBee 178, arrived at ‘Iluka Echo’ (Echo) mine site to conduct an aerial photography survey of the site. After completing his pre-flight preparation and risk assessment of the operation, the operator heard an aircraft operating about 1 – 1.5 km away on a neighbouring property.

Although it was a bittersweet moment when the Radian glider took off (my own airframe had a disastrous crash), it felt really good seeing that glider gracefully fly through the skies. After the repairs I had to make on it, I realise that motor has a pitch up moment on the airframe causing the glider to quickly gain altitude but loosing forward speed. That will have to be remedied.

I Although I now have a Radian glider. It's quite difficult to find open places where you're able to practice your flying. So i decided to design a new airframe that will be able to keep my flight hours up without having to travel far. The aim was to make a cheap. light and yet strong powered plane that, if needed, would be able to carry the autopilot board. The airframe was made of foam core , 160gsm board paper, packaging tape and dowel sticks.