Toxic_G

Does anybody know about the Pico Pilot-N? An atonomous autopilot for airplanes. It seems like a neat system, I just want to know if anybody tried it out or if you were pleased with teh preformance. I have my Sapac Predator that I want to use with it.
Heres the link: [link]http://www.u-nav.com/picopilot/ppn.html[/link]




Stealth is Invincibility!

cmoulder

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...35#post9262681

video from mine: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...24#post9304313

FLYBABY6

pico is ok i've heard but has flaws that need fixed to be improoved. DIY drones has what you need..

cmoulder

Yes, PicoPilot is not a breezy plug-n-play system, but once you get it installed and working correctly it is pretty reliable and robust.

The issues are IMHO not really flaws per se, but rather its non-hobbyist-friendly nature with regard to integration. It takes some effort to set up the model's control surfaces properly and to tweak the PP gains. Having "gone to school" with my first intallation/integration, it is going to be MUCH easier the second time around.

Sure, it would be nice (and UNAV would sell more units) if it were more PnP, but looking the the more advanced stuff they offer I get the feeling they're shooting more for the pro market.

Toxic_G

I am a computer person myself thats how i found picopilot because i was making my own autopilot then i saw that. So i thought it would be easire to mod that instead of scratch building a pilot.

cmoulder

In that case, my advice would be to get the N + A version and forgo the T board (throttle) because the T and A tend to "fight" each other. Simpler just to set the throttle level where you want it before enabling PP.

If you plan fly out of TX range (not that I would recommend it), you MUST use a PCM receiver and have the failsafes set up correctly - neutral for control surfaces, PP enabled and throttle level at the desired setting - and you must do a lot of testing within TX range to make sure these are optimal and correct, or your sizeable investment may just fly away. If using a Futaba RX, you must also use the inline servo buffers because otherwise the signal pulses will "step on" each other.

Toxic_G

Ok, but i kinda already gone and done some other stuff, a little late replying. But thats alright i like the tips because i can help my friend with his. it seems to glitch, so i gotta help with that too