Non Vectored Tailsitter Planes

ArduPlane
1

In this discussion please share key point information only on Non Vectored Tailsitter Planes.

Non Vectored Tailsitter Planes means they have fixed rotor orientation relative to the fuselage, that means no servo to tilt motor.

Please share information like flight test video, parameters settings, Params file and your experience etc.

2

Some basic setup

Q_ENABLE=1
Q_FRAME_CLASS=10

Q_FRAME_CLASS=10 That tells the QuadPlane code to use the tailsitter VTOL backend.

Orientation - The AHRS_ORIENTATION, the accelerometer calibration and AHRS trim should all be done for fixed wing flight. Fixed wing flight is considered “normal” orientation for a tailsitter.

For initial testing recommend setting:
Q_ASSIST_SPEED=0

If you have left throttle on channel 3 and right throttle on channel 4 then you would use:
SERVO3_FUNCTION=73
SERVO4_FUNCTION=74

Direction of motor should be opposite with each other
Right motor : CW (Seen from back)
Left motor : CCW

3

Recommend initial flights in QSTABILIZE and QHOVER mode to test it hovers OK. Ref - Guide by Mr. Tridge Sir

4

For servo setup, follow the fixed wing setup documentation for an elevon plane. Ref - Documentation

Thats mean,

SERVO1_FUNCTION 77 Left elevon
SERVO2_FUNCTION 78 Right elevon

5

Important point specially for non vectored tailsitter.

Center of Gravity

The center of gravity for a tailsitter is important in an extra dimension. When hovering it is important that there is not too much weight in the belly of the plane or on its back, so that it leans forward or back. This is particularly important for non-vectored tail-sitters.

6

I assume you mean dual-motor :slight_smile:
Here is my full differential trust, no control surface running Arducopter.

IMG_1409.JPG1600Ă—1200 569 KB

1 Like
7

Hello Mike Sir,

Thanks for reply.

This discussion related with

http://ardupilot.org/plane/docs/guide-tailsitter.html

In that, more specially important points related with Non-vector tailsitter.

For example

IMG_20171118_144146.jpg970Ă—946 132 KB

Your full differential trust Airplane looking very nice, Can you please share some info links so we can make this Airplane, share needed extra setup parameter list, build guidelines and some videos of flight test etc.

8

I really have no documentation on this build. It really does not fit in your category. It runs Arducopter stock with no special parameters. There are a few other similar designs on the internet. Like this one

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9

Thanks for your info . . . .

10

Hi,
currently i’m building a tailsitter. (with 1 Apm 2 Motors and 2 Flaps) My problem is that i can’t find any parameters with a Q_ at the beginning. Not even the Q_ENABLE paramter. Is there something i overlocked? I would be very thankful if anyone know why i cant find those parameters. Btw. i’m new here and hope that i asked in the right topic. I’m sorry if that’s not the case.

Greetings
Mathis

11

@Mathis, firstly it would be more helpful for you to start a new thread with your problem rather than tack onto the tail of an older existing thread.

What version of Arduplane have you loaded?
What is the model of APM?
If it is indeed an older APM then the GCS would have loaded an older version of Plane without the Q_ functions.

1 Like
12

Thanks for your fast reply. I have just figured the Problem out a few hours ago. The problem was that the APM was to old for the newest firmware and the older ones don’t support tailsitters.

13

Is there a setup for a Non Vectored Single Motor Tailsitter that uses all four control surfaces to counter the torque from the motor?
From what I see only the elevons do that job. Understandable for a sinle rudder setup.
I have a two rudder system. One rudder above and one rudder below fuselage with independent servos for each. Elevons and rudders are close to the fuselage so I’d really like to use the rudders for countering motor torque too. This would help the elevons.