I want to build an autonomous drone that is capable of long rage flight.
I also want it to be a budget project, but don’t know how expensive budget is in model planes.
Furthermore, I’m also VERY new to this all, so thanks for your understanding for maybe bad questions.
I want to fly it like a normal plane with a remote
I want to let it fly autonomous (so height sensor, gps)
I would like a camera with live view on my computer
It should be long range
Avoid clone pixhawk controllers. Stick to brands like Matek if you’re on a budget.
Yes, you need a radio controller. At least to get it setup, tuned and configured. Radio Master makes some good units for a reasonable price.
There’s a ton of variables here, and some of it will depend on budget, what your RC experience is and where you are in the world. So it’s unlikely anyone is going to give you a shopping list, it’s really up to you.
Some suggestions:
Matek or Holybro Kakute H743-Wing flight controller.
A Radiomaster Transmitter that runs EdgeTx with the ELRS option.
A Radiomaster, or other, ELRS Receiver.
Everything else; motors, ESC, props, power system all depend on the specific plane.
Flight Controller-No
Transmitter-No
GPS Module-No
The rest of that stuff-Who knows, it depends on the Plane. The cheapest shit you can find isn’t a good plan.
Hey Tim, welcome.
Without knowing your background, i’ll assume new to RC planes.
my thinking…
build a cheap foam or foamboard RC plane. Crash it a few times and understand what makes it work, and how to fix it. This is good fun.
Do this before you FPV and Autopilot, it will help you fix all the " why does the autopilot keep crashing… " type problems.
Add the autopilot into the plane and add FPV when its stable/safe
zero to autopilot FPV is a big step.
Like the guides im sure say, get an RC controller & receiver with enough channels to connect to the flight controller, and you’ll be FPV in no time.
