4/9/2022: Test Flight of Pixhawk Implementation and Energy Consumption
The team conducted the first test flight of the semester on Saturday, April 9th, utilizing the AL37 aircraft. The goal was to conduct a test flight with the new Pixhawk implementation and utilize the QGroundControl software to gather energy consumption data, with the aircraft at steady-level flight. The electronics system performed as expected and the team saw no disconnection issues between the ground computer and the Pixhawk in the air. The flight lasted for roughly 4 minutes 30 seconds before the battery was reported going low and the aircraft was brought in for a landing. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://m2i.aere.iastate.edu/boeingelectric/files/2022/04/20220409_121606.mp4"][/video] The flight revealed some issues that we can improve on with the AL37. These issues include making some adjustments to the wings, fixing some issues with the flaps, and putting…