V-22 Osprey Project - Flight Control
Now that I have a conceptual idea of how to build a V-22 using leftover mCPX BL parts, how do I go about controlling such an aircraft? I own a Taranis X9D+, and it can control up to 32 channels using dual receivers, so that won’t be a problem. I’m sure that I can create a mixing profile in the transmitter to handle just about anything, but I’m also sure that just like any multi-rotor “drone," this thing will need some form of automatic flight stabilization.
I own a few multirotor aircraft and I’m familiar with how they function. Some research into the popular flight control software (Betaflight, iNav, Cleanflight, LIbrepilot, etc.) all came up short. No one has written code for off-the-shelf flight controllers to manage a dual-swashplate aircraft. I would have to build my own.
I have not delved into writing code for flight controllers, but I have built a number of Arduino projects, and some of them utilize RC inputs to control servos and motors. It occurred to me that I might be able to take the stabilized outputs from the FC and pass them through an Arduino to create a custom mix for the control surfaces.
At the same time, I remembered a gentleman that I follow on YouTube named Tom Stanton. I am always impressed by his projects, especially those concerning RC flight. A while back he developed a largely 3D printed VTOL aircraft (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3191118). He ran into a similar case where he wanted to phase-in the main aerodynamic controls as the craft transitioned from hover to forward flight. To solve this, he daisy-chained an Arduino microcontroller between the flight controller and the servos. This allowed him to do some custom mixing in the Arduino that was not possible in the FC board.
I own a few multirotor aircraft and I’m familiar with how they function. Some research into the popular flight control software (Betaflight, iNav, Cleanflight, LIbrepilot, etc.) all came up short. No one has written code for off-the-shelf flight controllers to manage a dual-swashplate aircraft. I would have to build my own.
I have not delved into writing code for flight controllers, but I have built a number of Arduino projects, and some of them utilize RC inputs to control servos and motors. It occurred to me that I might be able to take the stabilized outputs from the FC and pass them through an Arduino to create a custom mix for the control surfaces.
At the same time, I remembered a gentleman that I follow on YouTube named Tom Stanton. I am always impressed by his projects, especially those concerning RC flight. A while back he developed a largely 3D printed VTOL aircraft (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3191118). He ran into a similar case where he wanted to phase-in the main aerodynamic controls as the craft transitioned from hover to forward flight. To solve this, he daisy-chained an Arduino microcontroller between the flight controller and the servos. This allowed him to do some custom mixing in the Arduino that was not possible in the FC board.
Thankfully, Tom posted his code to GitHub and with some of my own modifications I’m on my way! (https://github.com/TomStanton/VTOL-Bicopter-transition-mixes)
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