I just read this post... http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/waypoints-and-failsave
CAA rules apparently say... (as of Feb. 2012?) http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP658.PDF
Any powered model aircraft fitted with a receiver capable of operating in failsafe
mode should have the failsafe set, as a minimum, to reduce the engine(s) speed
to idle on loss or corruption of signal.
Because of a recent post about a lost fly away quad a design flaw in the APM has come to light wherein the APM holds the last setting (highly unlikely to be idle) upon the loss of throttle signal input. This happens on many receivers when they lose signal or could happen if a signal wire came loose. Apparently this isn't easily changeable behavior and is the normal failsafe mode.
Am I missing something or does this make the APM completely illegal to operate in CAA countries? Hopefully there's some loophole that I missed somewhere.
Replies
Well, my receiver is a simple one that has no failsafe mode....
On a related note, using an APM also means the ability to do Geofencing etc, and there is also the telem link which may still be operable even if your TX/RX is not.
If you do not want to modify the AC code, then I recommend you:
* obtain or configure your RX for failsafe operation
* configure your modes such that the mode channel for manual is a low PPM value
* configure your RX failsafe to:
* drop the CH5/mode channel to the low/manual PPM value
* drop the CH3/throttle to a low value
There are other options, I suppose, this is just one example, if that is how you interpret the CAA rule.
As the builder and operator, the responsibility is yours, I would think.