Complete system failsafe?

As I get progressively closer to having my own UAV in the air, I am starting to worry about the safety and legal aspects of my vehicle. I will be using a 5 foot wingspan foam glider, outfitted with a propeller and ArduPilot equipment. I will be flying in a lightly populated suburban area, and my concern is with the occasional fly-over of neighborhood and recreational areas. I chose a foam glider specifically because of safety concerns, so that I might lessen property damage or injury in a worst-case scenario.

My question is, what, if any mechanisms are used on other people's UAV's in case of a complete system failure. What if the battery in the plane comes detached and the wire disconnects disabling all equipment? Obviously correct soldering and setup is the first line of defense to prevent this, but what if? Should I put a parachute on my plane that deploys when all power is lost?

-Austin

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Greg Fletcher May 31, 2010 at 5:00pm

First off, you should never fly your plane where you cannot visually take over(manual mode), especially over neighborhoods. If you cant pilot your plane yourself to where its going then you shouldn't be there in the first place. Therefore if remain in visual contact, you are just like an ordinary RC pilot and the risk is the same. Otherwise you are operating illegally. And of course fly a small foam glider that can't do much damage.
James Turner May 31, 2010 at 2:58pm

I Think the easiest thing to do would be to fly somewhere where there are no people at all if you can even if it means travelling that few extra miles to get yourself some some space to fly. That way you can conentrate more the your uav and it's capabilities and less worrying about what would happen with systems failures. Even a parachute may not help if it happens the gently come down on a busy road.

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Complete system failsafe?

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