I've completed my winter project, a Bixler 1.1 with an APM 2.5 flight controller board and GoPro based 5.8Ghz FPV system. Just waiting for a fairly warm day (maybe in the 20's) to maiden her!

With everything being powered with one Turnigy nano-tech 2650mAh 25-50C Li-Po battery, I wanted to see how many amps I would be drawing.


A static bench test of the system powered up and a ten second run of the motor at WOT revealed an amp draw of only 10.71A.


I am anticipating some pretty good flight times with this setup. Now, if it would only warm up a bit around here...

Apm is a amazing piece of equipment. Ive had a bunch of flights on my twinstar its been a fantastic experience

I agree! After countless evenings spent watching Youtube videos regarding the APM, and bench-testing my own system numerous ways (only because I can't actually get out and fly it yet), I am more than ready to maiden this Bixler!

It is a beautifully clear and calm day here today. The only problem is that the temp is hovering around zero F! I'll be patient with this one and wait until Friday when it should be in the 30's...

Until then!...

Well, I finally had a chance to get her into the air. Despite it being fairly breezy this afternoon, my Son and I headed for our favorite flying field (ballpark) for a flight attempt.


I was hoping to fly one battery through her in manual mode to get her properly trimmed out before doing any APM testing. I managed a sliding takeoff from the snow and was airborne. Unfortunately, the wind was a bit to gusty at the field. The little Bixler was being tossed around a little bit too much to really assess the flight performance, so I cut it short after about 2 minutes and brought her down. She did fly remarkably well on landing approach, and settled gently to the snow.


All in all, I was able to field-test some of the equipment. The telemetry radio system worked like a charm, displaying inflight data on my tablet computer observed by my Son. I also retained the data log file from the flight to review in Mission Planner on the home PC.


We may try again on Friday if the wind is favorable.


Until then...


Fergy

I did some testing with Mission Planner (PC) and DroidPlanner (Android Tablet) last night. The issue at hand is that DroidPlanner uses Altitude ASL when planning waypoint missions. This cannot be changed to Altitude AGL, as it can be in Mission Planner.
The main thing I wanted to do is verify that a file created in Mission Planner could be transferred to tablet, opened by DroidPlanner and uploaded to the APM without any unwanted alterations to altitude settings... Success! This worked fine.
I then loaded all mission files that had created in DroidPlanner onto a flashcard, opened them on the PC in Mission Planner, resaved them with Absolute Altitude (altitude ASL) unchecked, then moved them back to the Android Tablet.
This will allow me to continue to use the Android Tablet as my GCS computer at the field.



Fergy

An important update to the info in my last post:

This is what happened...
I use an Asus Transformer tablet w/ attached keyboard as my GCS computer (I don't have a laptop), running the DroidPlanner App. The app uses altitude above sea level by default and does not have the option to change this to above ground level relative to Home Height (which I prefer to use).
I have found that if I create a waypoint mission on my PC using Mission Planner (with altitudes set to AGL), then transfer the file to the tablet and open it in DroidPlanner the altitude settings remain set to AGL. I have also found that I am able to edit the file safely to a certain extent in DroidPlanner without altitude defaulting to ASL. I can move waypoints around, change altitude numbers, change a waypoint's command, etc. with no ill effects. It is only when I actually add a waypoint in DroidPlanner is when things get screwy (as I learned the hard way!).
I was flying a mission that I had edited in DroidPlanner in which I had the plane going out of los for a short time before returning to the field. It flew the first several waypoints at the proper altitude, but as it turned to head toward one of the newly added waypoints, it rapidly descended and crashed. Luckily, this part of the mission was following a nearby road, so we were able to drive to the crash site, reacquire telemetry radio communication and locate the aircraft.
While investigating the cause of the crash, I loaded the flight's log file into Mission Planner and took a look. It was revealed that the initial waypoints were still set to AGL as intended, but the new waypoints add in DroidPlanner were set to ASL! The plane diligently flew it's course, trying to reach an altitude above sea level that was actually below ground level. Ouch!


The moral of this story:
If using the DroidPlanner app, be aware of you altitude settings!
I always run my WP files through Mission Planner and make sure the Absolute Altitude box is unchecked, ensuring altitude is set to AGL.


Sorry for the long-winded tale but it did need explanation, and I hope this may help anyone else who may use both programs as I do.


Happy flying!
Fergy