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The free software approach to ArduPilot code development is similar to that of the Linux Operating system and the GNU Project, and the PX4/Pixhawk and Paparazzi Project, where low cost and availability enabled hobbyists to build autonomous small remotely piloted aircraft, such as micro air vehicles and miniature UAVs. The drone industry ...
PX4 supports the following features: Multiple vehicle types, including fixed-wing aircraft, multicopters, helicopters, rovers, boats and underwater vehicles [1]; Fully manual, partially assisted and fully autonomous flight modes [2]
A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft (in which a rotor mounted on a spinning shaft generates lift), and ornithopters (in which the wings oscillate to generate lift).
Cockpit controls and instrument panel of a Cessna 182D Skylane. Generally, the primary cockpit flight controls are arranged as follows: [2] A control yoke (also known as a control column), centre stick or side-stick (the latter two also colloquially known as a control or joystick), governs the aircraft's roll and pitch by moving the ailerons (or activating wing warping on some very early ...
The wing of a fixed-wing aircraft provides the lift necessary for flight. Wing geometry affects every aspect of an aircraft's flight. The wing area will usually be dictated by the desired stalling speed but the overall shape of the planform and other detail aspects may be influenced by wing layout factors. [30]
The reliability of the software running in airborne vehicles (civil or military) is shown by the fact that most airborne accidents occur due to manual errors. Unfortunately reliable software is not necessarily easy to use or intuitive, poor user interface design has been a contributing cause of many aerospace accidents and deaths. [citation needed]
Wing-shape optimization is by nature an iterative process. First, a baseline wing design is chosen to begin the process with; this is usually the wing created by aerospace engineers. This wing is assumed to be reasonably close to a best-fit design from the engineers. The next step is to model the wing shape and structure.
When an aircraft flies at or below approximately half the length of the aircraft's wingspan above the ground or water there occurs an often-noticeable ground effect. The result is lower induced drag on the aircraft. This is caused primarily by the ground or water obstructing the creation of wingtip vortices and interrupting downwash behind the ...