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.
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 a vinyl livery on the aircraft so that it is easier to keep track of in the air. The goal is to conduct a second flight in 1-2 weeks to gather pressure data in a rate-of-climb test.