Hi Mark
An interesting mission profile you have. I guess you need capability
of storage in minimal space, launch by dropping, autonomous flight to
a predefined spot and landing there. For this the following designs
come to my mind:
- Motorized Parachute, e.g. Para-RC. Pro: Stores extremely small.
Cheap and simple. Easy launch by dropping. Well-mannered flight
behaviour. Con: Does not land exactely vertical, but on very small
space. Not very robust to wind. Not very efficient.
- Gyrocopter, e.g. AC-10. Pro: Stores small. Lands vertical. Robust to
wind. Simple mechanics. Con: Needs a drag chute for launch by
dropping.
- Helicopter, e.g. T-Rex. Pro: Stores small. Lands vertical. Robust to
wind. Maximal maneuverability. Con: Complex, but mature and reliable
mechanics. Needs a drag chute for launch by dropping.
Neither multicopter, fixedwing aircraft nor a combination of both seem
suited for your mission profile at first thought. I guess you have an
interesing option with your inflatable wing. But at first look for
small storage and vertical landing there are more obvious traditional
designs. Make sure you have real advantages to them.
One hint concerning your v-tail design without ailerons: An inverted
v-tail will perform better than a standard one. This because an
inverted v-tail does not generate any adverse roll, but correct roll
when used as rudder.
I hope Piotr and Christophe can help you concerning the Paparazzi
transition technology.
Cheers
Reto
2014/1/17 Richardson, Mark E C1C USAF USAFA CW/CS13
<address@hidden>:
Reto, thanks so much for the information, I will be contacting Piotr and Wagter
and see if they can offer me any guidance on this. As far as the transition
deliverables you posted, I don’t think we will attempt to reach such high
efficiency just yet; the innovative part of our project is that the quad tilt
rotor has the capability of being stored in an un-deployed configuration and
remotely deploying itself (if everything goes correctly, it will do this mid
air after being dropped from 4000' AGL and using a drag chute to slow it down)
However, if it all goes correctly, we will most likely see if there is anything
we can do to improve efficiency.
Chris, after looking at the pictures of the VERTI4 I think you are underestimating
60", that’s 5 full feet which after testing our wing out, seems closer to
double the size of the one in the youtube video. Also, the wing was manufactured to
be able to handle our total 12lb weight through a 3G turn so hopefully we can catch
enough speed that the wing will no longer be just decoration.
What are your opinions on the Pixhawk Autopilot, I just had it suggested to me
after the last post.
PS - I just got a hold of a tiny computer and put UBUNTU on it, unfortunately
I'm not allowed to hook it up to the GOV network we use so I will have to get a
4G wifi hotspot before I can download and start to work with the Paparazzi
software --- also put through a request for an order of the Lisa/M which will
hopefully be ordered tomorrow; what is the shipping time usually on this and
what accessories come with it?
Again thanks so much to all of you for giving my teams project some time. I
will do my best to keep this site updated on the progress and will definitely
post questions to get more help.
Thanks!!!
Mark Richardson
USAF Academy
_______________________________________________
Paparazzi-devel mailing list
address@hidden
https://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/paparazzi-devel
_______________________________________________
Paparazzi-devel mailing list
address@hidden
https://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/paparazzi-devel