Maiden Flight - Go Discover Quad Plane

I like to share the first pictures from a succssesfull maiden flight of the copter part from the Go Discover.
I choose finaly the ArduPilot because with the PX4 I didnt get rid off a yaw problem from my frame construction.
With the ArduPilot and the H frame no problem at all :grinning:

Next steep - go ahead with the wings.

A few technical details:
Firmware: ArduPilot 3.8.2 APM - v4pro.px4
Autopilot: Pixhawk3 Pro.
Receiver and Mavlink: TBS Crossfire

Only one small issue so far.
The output value on the Mission Planer for the RSSI level is not correct. So far I didn;t find out to correct that but is not dramatic as I could control the value over the Crossfire.

Best regards,
Markus

3 Likes

Hi Markus,

It looks great! An interesting concept to start with the copter and then add the plane. I usually do the reverse. I guess that either way it helps to break up the complexity into smaller steps.

What is a Pixhawk3 Pro? I am not familiar with that controller.

Cheers!

Hi Greg,

I start with the copter and try to get them stable.
So I would be able to fall back to the copter if something goes wrong by the plane test flight.
That should reduce the repair work and cost after the first flights. :grinning:

The Pixhawk3 Pro is the newest autopilot from the Pixhawk Series.
If I order them the price was far below from the Pixhawk 2 Cube.
Now the Pixhawk2 Cube is much cheaper aviable at the market. So it could be the next one.
You will find some information regarding the Pixhawk3 Pro at this link: https://pixhawk.drotek.com/en/

The ArduPilot Plane 3.8.2 is working fine with the autopilot.
I am not using the prebuild - I building ArduPilot for Pixhawk/2/PX4 on Linux with Make according to the developer manual. Thats working fine for me.

Hope this weekend I get the camera in and the wings on the airplane to start the first “flights”.

Cheers,
Markus

@master-of-desaster-8

  • Did you complete this build?
  • Can you post photos of how you installed the booms under the fuselage?
  • Could you provide some details on how you installed/glued the booms?
  • Do you have video?

Hello Rollys,

I have completed the build.
But I have had to learn that the weight is very important for a airplane.
A long story short - to fat to fly :slight_smile:
So I pulled out the electronic and motors. The rest goes to the waste.
Next time I have to take more care for that.
I fixed the booms with carbon fibere. Looks very nice but to heavy.
Sorry no pictures or videos about the plane. It was just an experimental.

Best regards,
Markus

Oh, that’s a shame. Good luck on your next project.

Doesn’t matter.
It was an experiment.
So next time I know more about I have to take care.

Hey! Love the design process buddy I was thinking of doing something similar on a larger scale with 8 propellors.

Have you googled that hover bike concept that was popping up in Au for a while? It has an interesting configuration where the propellors sit on top of each other and adjust when necessary to help ease the overall load of the other 7, and so on.

The shape of your copter is great I love the giant eye looks like a lens or dirigible. Wish we could figure out how to comfortably add some helium and a bagged wing situation.

Other than that, maybe a more tear shaped body and you have yourself a good one!