Electrics - 2011/02

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 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
others, 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 difference
for us is that the
AR.Drone uses one
Also included in this column:
• Transmitter trays
Parrot Fly by Wi-Fi
February 2011 97
Electrics Greg Gimlick | [email protected]
Greg Covey of “AMP’d” (L) and Bryan Spears from Parrot show the
A.R.Drone at the 2010 NEAT Fair. Greg holds the outdoor body and
Bryan has the indoor body that shrouds the rotor blades.
A screen capture of Greg’s iPad using the free AR.Free Flight
software that makes it possible to fly the AR.Drone. Notice the
telemetry information displayed. The shaded circles are similar to
transmitter gimbals.
This was taken from the front camera of the
AR.Drone while it hovered over the
author’s shoulder, looking at him flying it
with his iPad. An iPhone or iPod Touch will
also command the hovercraft.
Another screen capture from Greg’s iPad shows the view using
the MatrixFlight HD program. Besides flying the AR.Drone, the
pilot also flies the onboard camera. “Drone” is merely the name;
the author is in full command at all times.
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98 MODEL AVIATION
• Control interface with emergency button to
stop motors
Dimensions:
• With hull: 52.5 x 51.5 centimeters (20.7 x
20.3 inches)
• Without hull: 45 x 29 centimeters (17.7 x
11.4 inches)
The device can be flown using one of the
five available Apps, but the “official” one is
called “AR.Free Flight.” The others are
variations that add capabilities or features,
and more are being developed all the time.
Each one costs between 99¢ and roughly $3.
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 shown
here are either screen captures or photos
taken using the MatrixFlight HD program,
which allows pictures to be taken at a
programmed interval. During the 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 do fly it inside or
outside. It protects the rotors from strikes
against anything; if you’re the way I am,
you’ll bump into a few things while learning
the ropes.
I’ve also 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 of the rotors
(this saves little fingers), and it crashed 10
feet to the floor.
Amazingly there has been no damage,
thanks to the big foam body. This is a kidfriendly
machine too.
Camera views can be switched from
forward- to down-looking with the touch of
a finger. All Apps basically work the same
with controls. The left button activates the
accelerometer function of the iPad or phone;
as you tip the phone, the AR.Drone will fly
in that direction.
The button on the right allows you to
rotate the Drone around its vertical axis and
adjust altitude. If you get yourself into
of the devices I mentioned as the controller
instead of the radio transmitter to which
we’re accustomed. The cool thing is that this
new product also lets you fly using FPV
technology, and I’ve done that inside my
shop.
The “AR.” is short for “augmented
reality.” Think about heads-up displays, etc.,
where you’re integrating reality with virtual
input. Do you remember “The Terminator”?
His display was augmented reality.
Flying “the system” in a full-scale
Apache is the same thing. The pilot operates
the helicopter using the monocle displaying
the FLIR infrared imaging with all of the
flight and weapons systems superimposed.
This is super-cool stuff for a hobbyist’s
machine.
Following are the AR.Drone
specifications.
Embedded computer system:
• ARM9 468 MHz
• DDR 128 megabytes at 200 MHz
• Wi-Fi b/g (protocols)
• USB high speed
• Linux operating system
• Inertial guidance systems with MEMS
(Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems)
• Three-axis accelerometer
• Two-axis gyrometer
• One-axis yaw precision gyrometer
Specifications:
• Running speed of 5 meters/second; 18
kilometers/hour (16.4 feet per second; 11.2
mph
• Weight: 380 grams with outdoor hull (13.4
ounces); 420 grams with indoor hull (14.82
ounces)
• Flying time: approximately 12 minutes
• Quadricopter constructed from carbon
fiber and high-resistance PA66 plastic
Safety system:
• EPP-foam hull for indoor flight
• Automatic locking of propellers in event of
contact
• UL2054 battery
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
Web sites 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 highend
balancing chargers.
The AR.Drone comes with its own
balancing charger. But by comparing the
state of charge and balance to the ones from
my other chargers, I’ve 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 system as it comes
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 Web site, you need to! And thanks
to Bryan Spears of Parrot for spending so
much time demonstrating the drone and
explaining the engineering side to everyone
who asked.
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
Jerry Cozort was well prepared to custom-build trays for any
radio at the NEAT Fair. Using the tray indicates that an RC pilot
has graduated to a level of finite control and seeks to improve
proficiency.
Three versions of Jerry’s Flight Pad tray are shown, with different
radios in each. The idea is to offer support so that the pilot
doesn’t have to worry about dropping the transmitter, but instead
can focus on flying the model.
02sig4.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 12/20/10 8:11 AM Page 98
February 2011 99
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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 throughout the
years to find a way to force me 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 getting used to fingerflying
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
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:
NEAT Fair
www.neatfair.org
JR Indoor Electric Festival
www.jriefestival.com
Parrot
www.parrot.com
Jerry Cozort
(574) 524-0576
www.jerrycozort.com
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