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RC Model Plane Instrumentation?

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karoliina.t.salminen

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2008
Messages
407
Location
Finland
About instrumentation of a RC model if you want to build one to obtain some test data without access to a wind tunnel:

You should be able to add instrumentation to RC model and use for example embedded hardware called Arduino to deal with the data. The cost of these parts is very small compared to what big projects are spending for the instrumentation.

I am going to do that but I am not there yet. Pitot tube, MEMS gyro, etc. can be interfaced with the Arduino. The Arduino board is already booting but it is not yet on a RC plane, just on our living room table. I have been so far practicing flying the RC models to not ever crash them because I don't want to crash the electronics nor bigger models I have spent lots of time building them. I am quite happy with the outcome of this summer, I now no longer seem to crash RC planes, after the summer season the planes are still intact (knock knock..)

I am not that big expert myself on embedded hardware and software (most embeded devices I have been working on have been tablets and smartphones, which are actually computers), but my spouse is a guru, and I am relying on that. I can not estimate when we have something flying with Arduino + instrumentation. Could be next summer if we are lucky. Later if we are less lucky. Winter time is not so good for flying RC models here even if there would be plenty of space where to fly the models - on sea ice. I have had trouble with servo motors losing speed on the cold and that's not good even if there would be some way to keep the RC pilot not getting frozen in the cold wind from the frozen sea. We will mount the system at first to some existing almost-off-the-shelf-model like perhaps my modified-by-myself Multiplex Twin Pusher Cularis (two pusher motors mounted on wings instead of single motor on the nose) or maybe on my modified Multiplex Xeno.
 
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