Progress as always at UAV Forge! This week a kit to be used as a competition plane has been found after a week of continuous research. The chosen plane was the AeroWorks 20cc-30cc Trainer. Its 88″ wingspan and 12lb flying weight allows it to have a wing loading of only about 20 0z/sq ft which would allow the the team to place all components and systems within it and not cause the wings to fail. The plane also sports a large air frame which would be able to house the components without needing significant modifications, allowing the project to progress time efficiently.

Otherwise, the ground station team has continued to work on its software and has added a few new functionalities including adding ArduPlane modes for easy switching, adding a flight path to the map, a widget to arm/change modes on the PixHawk. Pathfinding has run into some optimization issues but the ground station team continues to work on making it produce a smooth and optimized path.

The structures team has been working to mount all wave B avionics for the flight test to be conducted over the weekend. The components include the Raspberry Pi 3, Raspberry Pi battery, Sony a6000 camera, and SMPS Power Board.

The avionics team has been working with the structures team to mount and ground test the systems. The team has also continued to research different antennas and how to mount them in a turret.

The aerodynamics and propulsion teams have been pulling all useful data from the escs during prior flight tests and are creating a drag profile for the sig-T.

The project continues to hard and together towards each step forward.

UAV Forge Documentary Officer,

Kenzo Spaulding