I just joined DIY Drones today, after having known about the site for two weeks now. I came to it, in directly, via John Robb's Global Guerillas blog (http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com), and I am intensely interested in building my own UAV.
I've already taken the first step: Order the Firebird Phantom beginner RC airframe, and learn to fly RC planes. I suppose I've already taken the first step of learning to fly as well: a fuselage destroying crash when flying in moderate winds. So now I've got a small pile of replacement parts on order.
I will try to keep this blog current on how my ultimate journey goes: from beginner (right now!) to seasoned UAV pilot.
A bit about me:
I live in Northern Canada. Currently, I am hoping to use UAVs to achieve detailed aerial photos of the surrounding areas of town, to use as the base information for 1:5000 orienteering maps.
Thanks for reading my first blog post, and if you have any tips for me at any point, feel free to leave a comment on my wall.
Comments
Actually the mention of sonic rangefinding was not meant in the same league you are working towards.
I only mentioned in passing the rangefinders used for UAV autonomous landing patterns... the ones which were originally developed almost 30 years ago for the Polaroid/Kodak instant cameras, with a relatively poor accuracy and short range.
Yeah, initially, I thought was going to be easy to collect that info, but the more I think about it, the less sure I become.
I was actually wondering if a radar system might serve my purposes well - maybe not radar, but some long-wave radio emitter which would pass through trees and small buildings, but be reflected by the earth. Maybe a sonic system would serve that purpose well - I hadn't thought about it. Any engineers here who can help with this discussion?
The need for accurate AGL figures is not as big an issue for those of us interested more in photography.
What resolution are you aiming for?
I understand your preference of laser versus sonic rangefinding, but I have not come across as much info on its use in the hobby UAV scene.
The idea of a foam glider is very intriguing to me - if for no other reason than that it won't require frequent battery changes.
The simulator looks interesting as well. I will definitely try that out when I have some free time - maybe this weekend.
I think several of us are just starting out on this journey.
My brother bought one of those firebirds and I must say I was not impressed with its turn rate. We were trying to teach his boys and it really was not pretty.
A good simulator is a good idea, heres a free one http://n-old.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/index_e.html
Foam gliders such a Zagi or Xit will allow you many hours of training time and are very very crash resistant. If you can fly gliders powered aircraft are a walk in the park ;-)
Good luck
G
UAV aerial mapping/imaging and robotics contests are the twin focuses of this site, so you're in the right place. The only advice I'd give you at this point is:
A) don't be despirited by the crash. I went through FOUR Hobbyzone planes before I got it, and even now I ocassionally do something stupid and ding a plane. That's why we try to keep them cheap and simple.
B) What you have in mind sounds like it's going to require quite long distance flights. If so, you'll have to eventually move from electric power to gas (the energy density of gas is many times that of even LiPo).. Electric is good for testing platforms, however, and many aircraft can be converted from one to the other.
You'll find there are quite a few of us trying to add UAV smarts to aerial photography. Chris Andersen had a fly-in in San Fran and there were some very promising results generated. Search for his report for details.
Welcome!
Paul