Gender
Male
About
Location
Spokane Valley, WA
About Me:
Degreed mechanical engineer working in aerospace manufacturing. I've previously spent time with the FAA doing air traffic control prior to switching over to engineering. I love to design and build 'things' and play with some cool stuff built by others, such as gas turbine jet engines (I've owned 5 so far).
Please tell us a bit about your UAV interest
I joined DIYDrones back in 2008 when I first become interested in UAV's. I've since done a lot on the electronics/programming side of things. I've since designed my own "autopilot" from scratch using an Arduino and some sensors (as partially documented on my site below). www.NuclearProjects.com
Hometown:
Spokane Valley, WA
Activity Feed
"A lot of the manufacturers offer free samples of the components they make. Just the components though, you'd still have to design/build the appropriate circuit to make them work. Daniel W Griffis said:
How did you get the parts for free?"
How did you get the parts for free?"
"Two sticks, four motors, a battery and controller... boom! Quadcopter. Looks like everyone and their brother are trying to concoct their own version. Very few stand apart from the rest."
"The FAA can issue a NOTAMs and TFRs for various temporary flight operations, they do it all the time for everything from sporting events to rocket launches (like hobby/amateur types). Not sure why they can't also allow them for UAV use. That way…"
"Gotta love it... rocketry and drones united!"
"This is great! One of the best ways to learn/master a subject is to teach it. I'm sure you'll learn even more by creating this tutorial. I look forward to going through it! I too had a hard time trying to learn the EKF, still do. ;-)"
"Something that I could actually do commercially with my private pilot certificate! That's one plus I suppose. Although, a huge minus for those without one."
"With regards to an autopilot system, it can't safely land a package for delivery at someones home. Way too many things that would prevent that. Without being able to automatically see and detect every possible obstacle (humans, dogs, mailbox,…"
"Great! So we can finally use our PPL's for generating an income, AND without having to keep our medical current. :-) win-win!"
"This is proof that simply having a "degree" in something doesn't mean you actually know anything. But carry on, I'm just here for the entertainment value."
"What an amazing experience! Thanks for sharing. Mr. Branson could have sought out any drone company in the world, and he chose 3DR. That certainly says something."
"I'd imagine any sort of ATC system for drones would be a fairly automated one. Having done ATC myself for the FAA, human occupied aircraft can keep you busy enough, I couldn't image adding a slew of drones to the mix. Pre-approved corridors…"
"When you make a product available for anyone, at any age, and any IQ level and any skill level, you're going to have all sorts of things go wrong."
"It looks like a good movie. Hasn't been many of those lately."
"Stuff like this makes me glad I no longer work for the FAA (former ATC). Changes to rules and regs that just don't make sense. Very frustrating."
"Looks like a step-up from using toothpicks and hot glue. I'm still lost about the practical purposes of this 'pen'. It takes a lot man-power to create something, and lacks any of the precision and automation afforded by cheap 3D printers."
"Right is... right. :-)"
