Today we are beginning to work with depron foam for the construction of one of many test airplanes to come. In the previous days, we have built insulation foam models at a small and large scale. After testing both insulation foam models, we have collectively decided to keep our basic design, but to scale it smaller than 3 feet x 3 feet. The center of gravity was consistently in the center of our models if we tampered with weighing down some parts of the aircraft, which was a positive aspect of our design. Some models that we tested flew many meters on a light toss. In progressing to using depron, we are spending a lot of time working with the thinness and dimensions of the material to maximize the amount of the resource we have. Although sometimes it is tricky to strategically build the planes out of the 13 in. x 39 in sheets, we are having success.

Beginning this week, we plan to attach the ArduPilot Mega to a pre-built model airplane to experiment with its functions. Once we have a good, working depron model with control surfaces and a propeller, we will begin experimenting with our plane and the autopilot. We are excited to see how it will function!