Condor: A Smart Radio Controlled Aeroplane

The main aim of this project, was to construct a cardboard, radio controlled aeroplane, which can disassemble to fit in a small, portable container, and has features to aid beginner pilots to practice their skills and gain confidence flying. These features include an autonomous control mode, that aids the user to maintain straight and level flight, and allows the user to execute autonomous turns, climbs and descents. A small ground station gives the user information about the current attitude of the aircraft, and alerts when the user is turning, climbing, or descending too sharply, signalling them to reduce their roll angle, or angle of attack.The autonomous control system uses an IMU with accelerometer and gyroscope sensors, in a feedback loop which corrects the angle of attack and roll angle using the control surfaces, which are actuated by servos. Control commands are sent using a 2.4 GHz transmitter-receiver set. Data is sent to the ground station using infrared.