[NSRCA-discussion] Flight Coach Hardware

[Andrew Palmer]

Getting the Flight Coach system up and running can be a bit daunting - especially if you are not familiar with the use of flight control boards.

Having said that, if you spend a bit of time doing some reading, it is not so bad.....Flight Coach compatible log files can be produced by any flight control board which can run Ardupilot firmware. Ardupilot (specifically ArduPlane - the plane version of the firmware) is able to write log files that contain a nice fusion of GPS and accelerometer data that Flight Coach uses to create the ribbon plots.

In broad terms you need:
1. Ardupilot compatible flight control board
2. SD logger (most simple is if it is built into the flight control board)
3. GPS and Compass - again, most simple is if these are included in the same unit
4. Power supply (simplest is if the flight control board is compatible with direct 2s LiPo/LiFe voltage)
5. Micro SD card

You will need a computer to install the ArduPlane firmware, and do the required configuration steps.

You can use any combination of hardware you wish - so long as it is Ardupilot compatible. So the Ardupilot website is a great place to do research on hardware. 

You will need to load the ArduPlane firmware on the flight control board.... again, this is covered on the Ardupilot website.

You then need to wire everything up and do a couple of calibrations - again, the Ardupilot website is of help here.

Finally, you need to set some parameters to enable the correct log file to be produced - the Flight Coach website has info on this.

With the current chip shortages, finding hardware is not so straight forward! There are a few ideas on the Flight Coach website, but of course many other possibilities. We have found the logs are of equal quality regardless of your hardware choices - so cheap stuff is fine!

BTW, at Flight Coach we don’t sell anything. And we have made all the code available to everyone. We hope this system can be used by all. We have previously (and may again) ask for donations to help cover the website costs - but that is it 😊

Andrew Palmer, NZ
Flight Coach
F3A Zone Pro