Discussions

Hi everyone,

I am attempting to build my own RC aircraft and have been slowly working out the mechanical design for quite some time now. As a mechanical engineer I'm finding my problem is with the electronics aspect of things, specifically what already exists out there and what I would need to somehow piece together myself. My design consists of 3 EDF jets which are allowed to pivot for a tri-copter hovering mode.

What I do know is:

1. I will need some type of processing unit on board to act as a controller for stability. I will most likely have to program two stability modes into it for hovering and for a normal flight control.
2. I would love to interface with a laptop for control and video feed. I don't mind creating my own interface (and might actually have fun doing so; I'm a PyQt programmer).
3. I want to keep the possibility of expanding the stability control functionality in order to do things like say do a full roll/flip while in a hovering state, etc.

My questions are:

1. Does a basic RF transmitter/receiver exist that can interface with a laptop? I do see some pre-setup boards that seem to do it all...can they be tailored to fit my rather strange experimental craft? (I'm thinking something like if I press the up arrow I can emit signal A, type of basic if it exists.)
2. What type of interface do you recommend between my receiver and ESCs for a stability controller?

At this stage I really need to gather my electronic components slowly and get them all working together properly...then I can tailor the external aircraft structure to fit around my electronics and be as light as possible.

I appreciate any advice. This is all very exciting! Lots to learn.