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The latest development code (due in release 0.8) contains a lot of new features!

In my opinion, the simulation (hardware-in-the-loop) is the most exciting one. It allows you to test out all kinds of navigation routines without having to test them out at the field. AND it allows me to develop new navigation stuff without having to do a lot of flight testing before getting it right.

All this is very easy in the current autumn days with very little flying opportunities.

This picture explains how it all works:

Actually there aren't a lot more screen shots to show: from the Gluon Control Station it looks as if it is a real flight :-)

More documentation on the simulation page.

The auto-throttle feature makes it really easy to test the maximum flight time of you UAV.

In the upcoming new release, a "Battery alarm" feature will be available too. This will allow you to configure "warning-levels" and "panic-levels". When, the panel level is reached, the autopilot automatically jumps to a configured navigation line (landing in my case). Very safe and easy!

My old funjet managed to fly 33minutes before deciding to land. A new wing that I'm building should fly at least 45minutes! Can't wait until the build is finished :-)

A video of the automatic spot landing of yesterday's endurance flight:

Somebody asked if I could shoot a video of the gluonpilot auto takeoff and landing. As you can see, I still have a lot to learn about video tutorials. I even failed at getting a nice video of the automatic landing :-) It's hard to aim on a small plane in the air!

The result is a video of the gluonpilot taking off automatically after an awful throw. After that some basic explanations on how I prepare for auto-landing:

A new release for gluonpilot!

Short overview:

1. New and prettier waypoint icons!

2. Minimum and maximum pitch angle can now be defined separately:

This has several advantages:

• We can climb faster (especially important during takeoff)
• We can descent more gentle

The recommanded settings are the one from the screenshot. This mean the new firmware has additional configuration settings. Please save your current configuration to file before upgrading to the latest firmware.

3. Improved auto landing! The auto-landing is now completely automated!

Right now you have 2 options for autolanding (see Helpers -> Add block)

• manual-land: This will give you a "Descent" and a "Flare" button. Descent will fly along the defined circle to loose altitude. When the plane is heading in the right direction, and the altitude is fine too, you can press "Flare" and the plane will fly in the direction of the Flare waypoint. Motor will be turned off
• auto-land: The autopilot will automatically glide towards the Flare waypoint when the altitude and heading is correct!

These 2 options are not recommended when you have a plane with a really good glide angle. In this case it will need a long distance to reach to ground. Experimentation is key here! There are 2 options:

• FLARE_TO: perfect for deltas and flying wings. The target altitude (e.g. 15 meter) will try to be reached without any motor running! This will result in a pancake-like landing.
• GLIDE_TO: The autopilot will try to follow the altitude line between the Descent-circle and the Flare-waypoint. Be carefull of steep descents & hard landings!

It should be noted that before or after take-off, you will need to move the Descent-circle and Flare-waypoint to make sure you will flare with head wind.

4. Wind vane

Thanks to the work of the folks at gentlenav/matrixpilot it has become possible to calculate wind without hard calculations! Now included in Gluon Control Station!

5. New settings:

• Default altitude for new waypoint
• Default circle radius for new circles
• Custom UAV name

New firmware and install file can be downloaded in the download section!

Alex from UnmannedTech has a lot more writing-skills than I do, and he has put this talent to a use to write a tutorial on the Gluonpilot kits he also sells.

The first episode is about soldering and wiring everything up, and his next eposide will cover the configuration part.

Thumbs up for Alex!

GCS in replay mode

The Gluon Control Station has the unique capability to replay a logged flight.

This allows Gluonpilot owners to analyse their flights, but also allows non-gluonpilot owners to get the feel of the Gluon Control Station!

Attached at the end of this post you will find my latest funjet flight. As you will see when flying circles, it was very windy (+- 7m/s), but no problem for the gluonpilot! For the demo, it was a short flight with only few waypoints, but with auto-takeoff and auto-landing.

The flight plan is as follows:

• Block Takeoff
  • This will fly in the take-off direction until the desired altitude has been reached (40m)
• Block Standby
  • In this block, the UAV is waiting for input, and flies in a circle while waiting
• Block Route
  • Here a very basic 3-waypoint route is flown using the FLY_TO command
• Block Descent
  • This circle is used to lose altitude. When the descent is done, the plane will fly 30m above ground in a circle
• Block Flare
  • This command will make the UAV cut throttle and glide on the line between the descent-circle and the flare waypoint.

Using the buttons on the GCS, you can switch between the different blocks. The current block-button is highlighted in yellow.

Some tips when using the GCS:

• Pressing "i" will zoom In
• Pressing "o" will zoom Out
• Pressing "c" will center the view on the plane
• Pressing the first letter of a block will make the UAV go to this block (not available in replay mode :) )
• Draw the map with your left mouse button
• Right click on the map or a waypoint to see the context menu
• Waypoints can be dragged, but they will remain gray because they won't be synchronized with the Gluonpilot

Download Gluon Control Station 0.7.1 (or newer) to replay this flight.

Download the Flightlog for replay.