Bramor Mission Planning

 Intro

    The C-Astral Bramor relies on the C3P (Command, Communications, Control, and Planning)  software for their mission planning interface. For this weeks lab we familiarized ourselves with the tools and opportunities available within the C3P software. 

Practice 1

    We were assigned to create a mission at the Purdue Wild life Area with the following specs.

1. Place your home, take off, rally/landing area in the open field area in SE corner.
2. Make sure you initialize your sensors. (this relates to altitude settings)
3. Set altitude to Relative to Terrain (bottom right corner)
4. Set your Altitude to 125 meters
5. Set to 80% frontal overlap and 75% sidelap (lateral)
6. Set the Camera to the RX1R II 35mm
7. Set the overshoot to 150m 

Figure 1: PWA Mission 1st Example

Then we were assigned to create a different mission at the same location with these specs. 

1. Set altitude to Relative to Terrain (bottom right corner)
2. Set your GSD to 2.5 cm/pixel
3. Set to 80% frontal overlap and 75% sidelap (lateral)
4. Set the Camera to the RX1R II 35mm
5. Set the overshoot to 120m

Figure 2: PWA Mission Example 2

Then we were asked about the differences that the settings inflicted on the mission. This practice helped me develop a better understanding and my conclusions are listed below.

1.  GSD (Ground Sample Distance)
1. If increased will cause an increase in altitude. 
2. Flight Line Spacing
1. The line spacing is not affected by altitude.  
3. Overshoot
1. Increasing overshoot will all increase the total flight path of the aicraft.
2. Is a necessary setting for manned aircraft because their larger turn radius requires them to fly beyond the desired area in order to accurately join the next flight line.  

Draw Functions in C3P Software

1. Street Points
1. Can be used to create a corridor that will automatically generate waypoints. Street points will likely be used if covering a non-straight area like the path or bend of a river. 
2. Waypoints
1. Allow for the individual place of each waypoint. This could be used for taking images of very specific points in a flight path. 
3. Measure
1. Tool allows the user to accurately measure an area using the map. A pilot would likely use this to gather an understanding of the total area he is trying to gather data about.

 Practice 2

   Practice two focused on the affects of weather on mission planning. We were tasked with introducing wind and seeing what new information the software would produce when dealing with weather. After the introduction of the wind the C3P software introduced the concept of the, "Uncertainty Landing Area" which is depicted as a purple hew near the landing point. The purpose of this depiction to provide the operator with an idea based on winds where the aircraft would land. 

Figure 3: Uncertainty Landing Area

We were also tasked with changing the wind data to record its affect on the Uncertainty Landing Area. This change in wind showed the area change size and location. 

Figure 4: Updated Uncertainty Landing Area

 Flying the Mission

After the above practices we were finally tasked with launching a simulated mission and to record the output of this simulated mission. We tracked the steps of the mission and each of their purpose.

1. Launch
1. This takes place from the home location shown as "H".
2. The purpose of this stage is to simply transition the aircraft from catapult to flight
2. Takeoff 
1.  After launch the aircraft proceeds to the designated takeoff circle shown as "T".
2. The aircraft then will begin a climbing orbit to the set altitude and at the set radius. 
3. The purpose of this stage is to provide the aircraft space to climb the mission altitude.
3. Mission 
1. After the aircraft reaches the designated altitude for the takeoff circle and the operator selects the navigation mode the aircraft will begin to fly the mission. 
4. Rally 
1. Once the aircraft has completed its mission and/or the operator begins the landing sequence the aircraft will navigate to the rally circle shown as "R".  
2. The purpose of the rally circle it to provide obstacle clearance while the aircraft descends to an appropriate altitude to begin the landing process.
5. Parachute
1. Once the aircraft has descended while in the rally and the operator commands the aircraft to begin the landing process the aircraft will navigate to the parachute point and altitude.
2. Once at the point the aircraft will cut its engine and deploy the parachute.
3. This point is selected to provide the best chance the aircraft will touchdown in the desired landing point.
6. Landing Point
1. The designated place where the aircraft is intended to touchdown shown as "L".
1. The Uncertainty Landing Area often provides a better estimate of the touchdown point due to winds. 

Figure 5: Simulated Mission 

Figure 6: Simulated Mission Summary

 

 

 

 

 

Bramor Parachute Folding

 Intro

   The C-astral Bramor that we will be operating for our field outings relies on autonomous landings and this fact has many benefits and potential hazards. The benefits include removing human error during the landing procedure and consistent flight proficiency. The automation also introduced two new potential hazards. Firstly, mission planning has significantly increased in importance because once the landing procedure has begun you are relying on your planning to safely land the aircraft free of obstacles. Lastly, a new potential for human error has been introduced on parachute folding and installation. You could plan perfectly and have a successful mission but a faulty folded parachute will lead to crash and potentially complete destruction of the aircraft and loss of the collected data. For this reason our first lab focused on the steps behind parachute folding and developing proficiency in parachute folding. 

Developed Tutorial 

For our lab we were tasked with creating a tutorial for parachute folding because an important step in knowledge comprehension is being able to teach the subject. For this assignment I created a presentation that breaks down the parachute folding process into easily comprehendible steps. 

Figure 1: Initial Steps Slide

Figure 2: Slide 2

Figure 3: Prepping for Break Line

Figure 4: Break Line

Figure 5: Z Folds

Figure 6: Triangle

Figure 7: Triangle Continued 

Figure 8: Square

Figure 9: Deployment Bag

Figure 10: Bag Continued 

Figure 11: Lacing

Figure 12: Lacing Continued

Figure 13: Finalized Project

 

 

 

 

Introduction

 I come from a multi-generational Air Force family and have lived on numerous bases. This experience inspired in me from a young age a deep fascination with flight and a desire to work in the aviation industry. Through Purdue University I have earned my Private Pilot Certificate and I am currently working towards my Commercial Pilot License. Purdue has also educated me in order to receive my Part 107 Certificate. Now through AT 209 I am increasing my piloting skills and diversity. Additionally, the this course will increase my overall knowledge of the aviation industry and its many nuances.