Hi All,
Sorry, no photos available, but I managed a couple of flights last Thursday with my Aircrew to test firmware update v1.0.1 in my flexwing (firmware v1.0.2 is now available but Wx not currently conducive to flying). Whilst not technically a ‘production unit’ (it was originally one of Jame’s prototypes), this unit has just been fitted with a new main board and high-definition display screen to upgrade it to the same as the production versions.
The unit was temporarily attached to the front strut at near eye level by mounting it to a mini tripod then cable-tying the tripod tight against the front strut. This proved to be an excellent mounting position in a flexwing, so a more permanent mount is on order. I did check for compass deviation as my compass is mounted just above this point, but the Aircrew didn’t seem to have any effect. I am also discussing weatherproof (or at least weather-resistant) case/cover options with James.
Test results were as follows...
Traffic Screen
Excellent clear reporting of aircraft traffic from PilotAware. There was a lot of GA and Commercial traffic about, comprising a good mix of PAW, ADSB and Mode-S/3D (MLAT). Individual aircraft (plane size set to medium) were easy to identify against the black background. I particularly liked the ‘easy zoom’ facility via the control knob, which makes separating a gaggle, or zooming out to see the ‘big picture overview’ really easy. Aircraft Registrations and relative altitudes (Aircraft Altitude set to Large font) were also easy to read against the black background. A useful feature - by zooming to place an individual aircraft on the outer ring, its ‘range’ is displayed at the bottom right of the screen (this is actually indicating the range of the outer ring) though in bright head-on sunlight, the green text used for ‘ring range’ was very difficult to read. I have since discussed this with James - he will look at improving the text font and has also asked me to test a prototype ‘sunshade’.
Artificial Horizon
‘Zero Alignment’ is now much improved from early versions. This is now very easy to set on the ground and once in level flight, can be re-adjusted by one press of the ‘Level’ button or by using the separate ‘Pitch’ and ‘Roll’ settings. Once set, the AH was very stable and reliable and remained unaffected by ‘normal’ movement of the flexwing pod. Both GPS and Baro altitude were reliable (within expected limits). I did notice some apparent anomalies with GPS ground speed, when compared to SkyDemon, which is strange as both get their data from PilotAware. James is looking into this and we will let you know what we find.
Track/Heading Indicator
With the previous test firmware, I had some issues when heading ‘due north’ (dial ‘spinning as it passed through 0/360 degrees) and reported these back to James. To work effectively this function requires calibration of the magnetometer - which I had tried to do on the ground - but apparently the best way to do this is from a previous track file. This facility has now been incorporated into v1.0.2 but I have not been able to test this yet.
On the basis of these tests and the extremely positive way in which James responded to my (not always positive) feedback, I would have no hesitation in recommending this device for use in a flexwing or 3-axis Aircraft.
Other developments and improvements (including a switch to ‘standby’ option) are in the pipeline.
I will report further once this abysmal weather improves and will try to get some pics next time.
Regards
Peter
