I fly FPV as do most of you Here at DIY Drones, and I will admit that I have flown at times without the use of a Spotter. Yes I know it’s a bad Idea to do so, however I also know I’m not alone. Lots of you do This I know I have seen The videos, But I don’t want to talk about this other than to raise the point that a spotter is not always available at times or necessary, If you are way out in the sticks, and under 400 feet no Biggie in my book. Others will I am sure disagree but that is a discussion for another Blog.

The big problem is that the requirement for a spotter comes from aviation law / rules / advisories that define a remote-controlled aircraft to be a vehicle flown via unaided visual contact. In order to meet this requirement, a spotter that has visual contact to the aircraft and possibility to take over control is needed. The visual line of sight rule comes from another section of aviation law, which dictates that people participating in the airspace must be able to "see and avoid" at all times.

My question or idea is why not have a Collision Avoidance System in conjunction with an autopilot?

It seems simple to me, and yes I know The FAA  is not fond of autopilots on our aircraft, however we fly in a very artificial environment to say the least. And we use all manner of electronic devices to give us Air Speed, Altitude, Heading, and more, so why not add a collision avoidance system to what we currently use to help be that extra set of eyes we need. Add an auto pilot that could take control in the event of a loss of signal or other mishap, and it would make flying FPV a lot safer for all.  No it won’t replace a human but it would help with”see and avoid”, even pilots of full size aircraft have trouble with this in crowded airspace which is why systems like these exists in the first place.

I recently went looking for a small affordable system and I found one, I am sure there are others.

The Zanon flight Systems PCAS MRX is a tiny system that is as small as the radar detector you might have in your Car, yet it can monitor your location, altitude, and heading, and will let you know if any other aircraft are in your area,  that and many other features. Yes those other  aircraft need to be broadcasting a transponder signal, however the FAA requires most all small aircraft to do so, except for ultra lights, para gliders, and the like, and I think they would like even them to do so. I would think this should be very valuable information to those of us flying FPV. Some of the units ability's are: Digital range, scalable from 5NM to 1NM, Relative altitude, scalable from ±2500 ft to ±500 ft, with ascending/descending indicator, A built-in altimeter for real-time accuracy, Displays the local squawk code and altitude, Audio alerts for threats and advisories. Not bad for its size and price, it sells for about $550.00. Until we can put a radar system on our planes and multi copters this might be the way to go. I think it should be possible to adapt this device, or one like it, to work with our OSD systems and auto pilots and give us that extra bit of real time safety that a spotter allows. The website for this device is here at http://www.zaon.aero/content/view/2/41/

Just food for thought I don’t have any Idea how hard it would be to add this to an OSD/ auto pilot, however I think our hobby is getting to the point where we will need something like this soon. And with all the talk about new regulations for drones coming soon I think it would make pilots of commercial and privet planes feel a lot safer to know we can see them and we are listening to FAA control and advisories for the airspace we are sharing with them. Please Let me know your thoughts about this idea, and thanks for your time reading my ramblings

Daniel

i just found this while browsing the web and thought it looked cool and figured i would share with the group.

i have not seen this before, it is from 2009 according to the date on it, if anyone has seen it before or if it has been on DIY Drones before let me know.

anyway it looks real cool and i would love to fly it and after the guys that flew the big quad copter last month i thought this was a nice idea here is the link to the story. http://www.nextconceptcars.com/concept-cars/ktm-design-studies/#more-1970

well the folding frame is done. i am currently waiting on the glue to dry on the motor mount/ nacelles, but the frame is done and folds perfectly, i made the arms a little longer then i first intended. i am hoping to get a little more stability out of it this way, the distance from motor shaft to CG is 600mm, giving a total diameter of 1200mm, yes this is a big Y6, and a Y6 that should have plenty of power, the motors i am using are the avroto 2814 @770 KV. as i mentioned in my last post, what i have not mentioned yet is how much static thrust they deliver, with the 12x3.8 CF props. in independent  testing these motors developed 60.3 oz of thrust, and 423 watts of power at 14.8v, the ones on my tricopter will pull a huge amount of weight, at the expense of flight time that is, so i think that 6 of these should be able to lift the 3D cam i like to fly with as well as an SLR or video camera. the frame is very light and very strong it folds open and locks into place with little CF spring tabs on each side of the frame box, each motor nacelle has a 3 led nav light mounted in it, in red, green, and white, as well as having a very small zeon strobe on the belly. 

i like3 the idea of all the parts and pieces being enclosed on a multirotor aircraft, it just looks more finished than having wires and components visible. and enclosing the motors makes sense to me for the same reasons.

this frame will mount to a flat sheet of CF that will then have all of the avionics attached to it like ESC's RC radio Rx, video Tx, main control stabilizer etc.. as well as providing a place to mount the battery and  all of this can then be enclosed in an egg shaped body giving a very nice slick aerodynamic shape to the whole aircraft.

the pictures i have attached will give a good idea of where i am heading with this

Cheers

i have finally gotten almost all of the materials i need to build my new Y6, cf sheets in 1.5mm, and cf tubes in 20mm id with 1mm wall, and 50mm id with a 1mm wall.

i have gotten the main box pieces cut for the folding arms and the motor nacelles and arm mounts for the design above.

all of the main parts have been glued together and seem very lite and strong, once i get them all assembled i will post pictures. i am still waiting on the control system/ stabilizer, i am using the FY-91Q and the FY-20A for the camera mount, i actually have several control systems already, namely the wii multicopter board, the KK board with the xx2.0 firmware, however i like the features that the FY-91Q has and i found the wii board to be twitchy in the ACC mode,i added the barometric altitude sensor, however it seems to float up and down about 2 meters when it is engaged, and seems to have arming issues no matter what i do. the kk board fly's great but it is very basic, and has no advanced features like hover hold or return to home, so i am waiting for the FY-91Q to be delivered.   

the motors are avroto's 2814 @ 770kv, i have these on my tricopter and running a 14.8v lipo pack at 3000mha, i am getting over 17 min of flight time using 12x3.8 props , this is a no payload flight time however, and in full flight trim i get 12 min, that is carring a GoPro camera, video tx, antennas, and the EMR labs 3D camera for video to the pilot, OSD, GPS, and a 500mha batt, so not a bad flight time i think. plus these motors are rather heavy also.

anyway back to the Y6 it will use 6 of these motors and i have ordered CF props in 12x3,8 from Mikrokopter USA, the reason i have ordered these is, A. because they look cool. and B. because i was getting tip flutter on the tricopter with APC nylon props, they just aren't stiff enough to lift that much weight without flexing, and it caused a lot of vibration that messed up the video from the GoPro causing me to have to fly with 10x4.7 APC props and i only get 8 min with these fully loaded. this is pretty good i think because the tricopter is very heavy, i hope that the Y6 will be lighter all around.

the speed controllers i am using are the turnagy plush in 30 amp, these have been great for me in the past and i have them on the tricopter and have had no issues, however if any one has an ESC they want to recommend please let me know.

well that is good for now i will update as i go and add pictures as well

cheers