The Idea

The original idea for this project came from slashdot post about an autonomous glider built and flown in Victoria that would take pictures at an altitude of 20 kms and fly back to its launch site by its self. Very cool, especially since it is in the realm of possibility for and reasonability intelligent and motivated techno-geek.

To personalize the project a bit, I decided on a remote control (R/C) style aircraft instead of a glider as the vehicle. These aircraft really have an intriguing element about them, and specifically the PBY5 Catalina . Eventually I will build something like the Catalina and have it fly.

I did a fair bit of dreaming and surfing to learn what type of components were on the glider, other projects like it, and other component possibilities. I also talked about my idea with a few friends and relatives to see what they thought. It seems to have struck a cord and I have received some excellent assistance and direction in the early phase of this project.

The heart of the project is the Servopod processor from New Micros Inc. This processor has a resident language, IsoMax, and board which should make the data acquisition from the sensors and the control of the aircraft quite simple.

The airframe was originally going to be a bit of an investment in time and money as I do anticipate a few "learning" experiences along the way. My uncle Jim pointed out an article on the web from a researcher at UC Irvine doing the same thing. That article mentioned SPAD's. I will be experimenting with these materials and developing my own flying skills before I start using a computer to eat airfield dirt.

The primary positioning system will be an OEM GPS product from Garmin, GPS 15L. This will need to be augmented with an altimeter, airspeed sensor, and magnetic compass. Other sensors that have been discussed are:
1. Angle of attack sensor
2. Short range distance sensor for autonomous landings; so far this seems like it would be an ultrasonic sensor.
3. RPM sensor on the prop(s).
4. Communication system with a ground station to report the sensor data and anything else related to the payload. I am currently leaning towards a packet based ham radio solution as the glider mark I did.
5. Artificial horizon sensor.
6. Power generator off the gas engine(s). If weight or space becomes an issue I might look into this.

The entire point of the aircraft would be to carry some sort of payload and accomplish a goal that would be difficult or expensive to do with a regular R/C aircraft. Also there is the obvious coolness factor when others are drooling over your team's creation. The primary goal right now would be to carry a digital camera of some sort and take some interesting pictures from wherever it is at and return safely. Some other interesting missions suggested by my uncle Al are:
1. Environmental land survey; sometimes even a survey of an area on a quad or on foot might miss something because of foliage. Cheaply gaining a little altitude and flying a search pattern over the area would provide documentation that no environmentally sensitive issues are in the area, and would also complete the search quicker and with less expense.
2. Raptor research; currently if a biologist wishes to track the progress of a clutch of eggs they either climb the tree periodically or mount a video camera next to the nest. These methods are either expensive, time consuming, or disturbing to the birds. Having the ability to fly over the nest site, take photographs and video on a frequent basis, and have multiply targets per launch would be an improvement over the current methods.
3. Just because it is cool. Currently this is my major motivation factor, if the others happen that would be great.

As of right now the only major roadblock I know of is legal. Since the aircraft would not be in my full control for the entire flight, it might move out of the “model aircraft” definition and into the “unmanned aircraft” definition which obviously has stricter regulations. To mitigate this I plan to incorporate two-way communication and allow for direct over-ride control of the aircraft.

Keep checking back and track my progress through this interesting and challenging project.

Doran
There are 10 types of people in the world.
Those who can read binary, and those who can't.