MFD Autopilot

[Coyote]

It can be used for configuring the sensor itself.

[BlueFlyer]

well well well, after all this time championing the Eagle Tree vector I have to succumb to the realisation that the MFD AP is actually a really good AP

It's fairly simple (once you get to grips with the menus etc) and just does what it's supposed to do, and with the built in AAT capability (if you actually have a working AAT :( ) it's a great AP

Aside from the fact that you have to sort out your own power requirements (I'm fully capable of installing BECs where they're needed) the only down side from my perspective is the OSD itself. It's dated and quite hard to read sometimes.

I guess I've just been spoilt by the uber configurability and customisation of the vector OSD.

I'm actually seriously considering selling my last remaining Vector to fund the purchase of a new MFD AP... I know.... what's happening to BlueFlyer!?!??! first he repairs a crashed plane, now he's wanting to sell a Vector!!!

I guess I'm just open to change if it suits me.

[Cockney Boy]

I'll never use another OSD. The auto launch and AAT make it the best.


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[wgt40w]

Purely out of theoretical interest -
For a fixed wing plane that does not have an MFD autopilot, but with a stabilisation unit

Would it be possible to set up an 'auto launch' by creating a tx switch controlled mix - of throttle (at a fixed in mix amount) + elevator (at a set amount of up).

So get plane and tx on as usual / put tx on ground / pick up plane / activate switch with foot and launch plane / pick up tx / switch off launch mix and fly.

On reflection, for safety reasons, amend the above so that it needs 2 switches to arm.

[iPeel]

Yep', the other week I spent an entire day dicking about with an APM on my Skywalker to no avail. I used to work with APM all the time and thought it was the best but the constant plugging USB in, configuring, testing, plugging in the USB, etc etc etc got on my nerves. After ripping the APM out I put in a MFD AP and 30 minutes later I was ready to fly.

Brilliant AP, sh1te support.

[BlueFlyer]

Many people have already created such mixes, but I think the beauty of the feature being built into the AP is that you don't have to mess with often complicated mixing.

[Coyote]

He has seen the light !!!!!!!

Took a while but knew you would :)

[BlueFlyer]

I've been out in the garden fiddling with the MFD AP in my skywalker revolution just so I can get used to it after over a year of using the Vector.

It's not too bad at all once you remember your switch positions, and I've now managed to get it into launch mode.

However, whilst I was figuring it out, the MFD AP would spin my motor up when in circle or RTH mode, even though it's stationary on the ground right next to me. I could have sworn there was some kind of safety feature that prevented that. If you're wondering why I was putting it in RTH mode when I wasn't flying it, it's because I was setting the failsafe on the EzUHF.

Another thing, is that the MFD AP did NOT automatically set home position and worryingly "home" was showing as 15km away.

I had to do a full power cycle of the skywalker in order to make the MFD AP set it's current location as home. Once I had done this, the throttle safety then started to work as expected, stopping the motor from spinning up when in circle or RTH mode.

I now think I'm on top of it, but just to be on the safe side I'm going to stay away from my vector powered SkyRay for a while as that will just mess with my mojo.

I think I'm dead set on replacing the vector with a MFD AP now.

[Coyote]

One of the bugs with MFD is that Charles will not admit to this throttle problem ( which put me in hospital once ) saying throttle safety won't let the motors spin up.

I disagree.  Why ( apart from experiencing it myself ) is that it is based on GPS speed. If the plane is not moving the motors will not start. But as more sats are locked it updates to its new more accurate location which then tells the AP that it has moved and therefore has a speed. At which point the motors will kick in if in circle or rather mode.

[BigT]

This can happen if the asi has not been reset either due to a lay off, temperature change, or if you have yet to calibrate the ass. If the AP thinks the airspeed is greater than the default. I had exactly this happen to me on the bench after a lay off. I was 17k away from the last home setting. I powered up the AP to check a new camera set up. The tx was in man flight mode. I did not get a new home setting as I had no sat lock. I did not ini as, or gyro. When I cycled the mode switches The motors went to full power. I thought I had a faulty AP. Luckily the props where off. After analysis of the OSD I saw that the indicated air speed was 25 mph, it was this that triggered RTH. After ini asi it went back to zero and all was as normal.

This should be a standard warning to all MFD AP users IMHO

You don't need both tubes connected as the cabin is not pressurised. Connect the pitot to the inlet nearest the pcb and leave the other off. Ensure the pitot is mounted out of the prop wash and facing forward sticking out at least 20cm. Calibration of the ASI is the key to successful indication. Allow the unit to warm up before flight, especially on cold days. Always cal sensor before first flight.

WARNING
if the indicated AS on the ground is above the detent limit and RTH is engaged or the radio tx is interrupted to simulate a FailSafe situation and the flight battery is connected the motors will run at whatever full throttle you have set in the menu. This can happen easily if, for example the plane was flown in very cold conditions and cal airspeed was done before the flight, then the plane was brought into a heated store. Then the plane was powered up on the bench with the tx off. In my case the indicated as was 28 mph causing the throttle to go to full regardless of having throttle safety engaged. Very dangerous.
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[BlueFlyer]

Well I don't have the airspeed sensor installed so I'm thinking the throttle coming on was due to the fact that the AP "thought" it was 14km away and therefore it is safe to put throttle on to get it back home.

Once I did a power cycle and the AP re-set home position, the throttle would not come on in RTH or Circle mode, only when I pushed the throttle stick up.

It's just one to be aware of and keep an eye on, that the MFD AP doesn't always automatically re-set home position for some unknown reason.

This actually happened to a friend who had been (like me) tinkering with his plane in his garden, then when he got to the field he launched his plane without checking the MFD AP had reset the home position. He was flying for only a few minutes when we noticed his distance from home was over 3km, which was impossible for the amount of time he had been flying. he tried to navigate home using the home arrow, but his picture was getting weaker and weaker until it eventually disappeared all together so he put the MFD AP into RTH mode.

I had an idea that perhaps his plane might have been literally trying to fly home, back to his house. We drove around the roads nearby with the VRX and monitor switched on and found a signal, the GPS coords were just barely readable so we popped them into google maps and went to get his plane.

There it was, exactly where the coords said it would be. When we later plotted a line on google maps from our field to his house, the plane was found about half way along that line.

So clearly this is an issue that needs to be kept aware of, as I imagine Charles certainly isn't going to do anything about it. I'm no coder, but I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult for those who created the AP to put in an instruction or line of code that tells it to delete it's previous home coords on power off and auto-reset home position on each power up.

[English Turbines]

My Skylark Tiny did a similar thing to me on my last session....It too auto sets home as soon as it finds something like 6 or more Sats....
   Its a great feature, and I wish my Storm had it also.....But it did once set "home" about 2kms away from where I was actually flying from.....It found a position dumped it and then found a false one it seems....
  The moral is, do your pre flight checks I suppose....
:vulture:

[djhandz]

Connect the pitot to the inlet nearest the pcb and leave the other off.

Please can you or coyote confirm which inlet to connect the pitot to i am reading conflicting information thanks

[BlueFlyer]

The one I have came with the tube attached to the one furthest from the pub. I too would like to know the proper way before I install it

[Coyote]

The port to use is the closest to the PCB. The other higher port is for static which we don't need.