Author: Greg Gimlick
Edition: Model Aviation - 2011/02
Page Numbers: 97,98,99
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Parrot Fly by Wi‑Fi

Greg Gimlick | [email protected]

It's hard to type "2011" already, especially when Thanksgiving is a week away. Oh well—time flies. The NEAT (Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology) Fair is over, and so is the JR Indoor Electric Festival.

Winter is here in full force for most of you, but there are still things going on and new items hitting the shops. This month I'll let you in on only two new things in my shop, but both are top‑notch.

Parrot — The Teacher's Dream

I hardly know where to start with this little gem. I don't know if it's a "toy," a "quadricopter," an "FPV (first‑person view) vehicle," or the coolest school science project ever. I know that if I were back teaching school, I would find a way to integrate it into my classes. This is a gold mine for science and math teachers, along with computer science teachers, industrial arts teachers, etc.

Based on an open‑source Linux operating system and with developer support from Parrot, the potential is endless. Before I get ahead of myself, though, let's look at what it is in terms of hardware.

The AR.Drone is a quadricopter designed by Parrot that uses a Wi‑Fi connection to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch for control. If you don't have an Apple product, don't despair; apps are in the works to support other devices, and they should be available by the time you read this.

That might seem odd to us old‑timers, but it's no big deal to the techies among us. After all, we fly models using 2.4 GHz radios, and a Wi‑Fi connection is merely a 2.4 GHz signal.

The device can be flown using one of five available apps, but the "official" one is called AR.FreeFlight. The others are variations that add capabilities or features, and more are being developed all the time. Each app costs between $0.99 and roughly $3.00. Video‑recording capabilities are being added, and with some ingenuity you can create videos using some of the still captures that are now available.

The images I show here are either screen captures or photos taken using the MatrixFlight HD program, which allows pictures to be taken at programmed intervals. During flight you can change which camera is taking the shots. The AR.Drone comes with two bodies, and I highly recommend using the big foam indoor version if you fly it inside or outside. It protects the rotors from strikes against anything; if you're like me, you'll bump into a few things while learning the ropes.

I once climbed too high in the garage and had a hanging model's gear stick down into the rotors. That caused the safety feature to kick in and stop all rotors (this saves little fingers), and it crashed 10 feet to the floor. Amazingly there was no damage, thanks to the big foam body. This is a kid‑friendly machine too.

Camera views can be switched from forward‑looking to down‑looking with the touch of a finger. All apps basically work the same with controls. The left control activates the accelerometer function of the iPad or iPhone; as you tip the device, the AR.Drone will fly in that direction. The right control allows you to rotate the drone around its vertical axis and adjust altitude. If you get yourself into trouble, let it go and it will stabilize itself into a solid hover.

If you wonder how stable this product is, push the big foam body with your finger and watch it recover. It is amazing. It is also amazing that something this sophisticated can be sold for roughly $300.

I'm obviously impressed with the AR.Drone, and it will become more capable as applications grow. There are forums and websites dedicated to the full spectrum of development and use. Keep in mind that "Drone" is only its name—autonomous flight is not the mission with this aircraft.

As with any new product, there is room for some improvement. Initial distribution has been through toy distributors, and it is now expanding into the hobby market. The Tamiya‑type battery connector is cheap and safe but, as has been experienced in the electric‑flight world throughout the years, inefficient.

Any modification will void your warranty, but I chose to replace my connectors with Anderson Powerpoles. That also allowed me to use several Li‑Poly packs I had on the shelf and one of my high‑end balancing chargers.

The AR.Drone comes with its own balancing charger. By comparing the state of charge and balance to the ones from my other chargers, I learned that it's not the best. Then again, I'm comparing it to chargers that cost almost as much as the whole AR.Drone. The stock system will serve you well.

Thanks to Greg Covey of "Amp'd" fame for putting me on to this machine. If you're not reading Greg's column on the RC Universe website, you need to! And thanks to Bryan Spears of Parrot for spending so much time demonstrating the drone and answering engineering questions.

This is an incredible little hovercraft. It will fly fine outdoors in calm conditions and is fun to fly around the shop. It's well made and sturdy, so your child—or you—won't destroy it by having a few accidents.

I'm not a programmer, but sometimes I wish I were; there is a lot you could do with the open‑source operating system and Parrot support. I'd love to see an AR.Drone in every school, getting kids excited about RC.

The Great Tray Search

I've been a thumb flier since the day I started, because that's the way I was taught. Throughout the years I've watched RC aerobatics pilots and others fly using fingers to hold the sticks instead of thumbs and have tried a few times without success. I end up quickly going back to thumbs.

The odd thing is that when I decided to fly helicopters, it was natural for me to use fingers. So I'm a thumb airplane flier and fingers helicopter flier. Go figure.

I've tried several trays over the years to force myself to fly with fingers. I haven't been happy with any of them, in spite of the fact that one cost $100.

After looking at numerous trays in the past year, I decided to give it another try. The one that convinced me was the Flight Pad by Jerry Cozort.

I first saw it used at the Joe Nall Fly‑In, and then I checked it out at the Toledo R/C Expo. I made my decision at the NEAT Fair in the fall when I got to try one.

The Flight Pad isn't cheap, but it's not the most expensive one out there. Outfitted the way I chose, mine cost roughly $95. The construction is superb, but the design is what sold me, along with Jerry's service.

He sells a couple of versions. Since I fly with four brands of radios, I chose the "universal"; it fits all of them perfectly. Each Flight Pad is adjustable with the hand rests, or you can remove them. The neck straps are the best of any I've seen, and the balance of the tray is great.

I'm still struggling to get used to finger‑flying my airplanes, but this tray is the best I've tried. It will last as long as I'll be flying.

Now if I can just quit leaning on it when I'm flying. If you walk past me and see me falling over, grab me and remind me not to lean on the hand pads. If you're shopping for a tray, give Jerry a shout.

Final Approach

That's it for another column, and there are still things to cover. By the time I get it all in, it will be old news and I'll be on to something new.

The trade shows are around the corner! —MA

Sources

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.