Hardware

The following sections will describe the different hardware components involved in Erle-Plane.

A fixed-wing aircraft has both advantages and disadvantages in comparison with rotor-craft. Fixed-wing aircraft tend to be more forgiving in the air in the face of both piloting and technical errors, as they have natural gliding capabilities with no power. Fixed-wing aircraft also are able to carry greater payloads for longer distances on less power.

There is a huge variety of fixed wing aircraft from electric battery powered small foam planes to large scale wooden replicas with multi liquid fuel engines and everything in between. You are bound to find a plane that suits your flying style and needs.

When precision missions are required, fixed-wing aircraft are at a disadvantage, as they must have air moving over their wings to generate lift. This means they must stay in forward motion, which means they can’t hover in one spot the way a copter can and as a result cannot provide the same level of precise camera positioning.

So for longer missions and more payload, a fixed-wing is your best choice.

Plane or an UAV?

A plane becomes a UAV when it is capable of autonomous flight. Normally this means taking the accelerometer and gyro information and combining it with barometer and GPS data so the flight controller understands not only it’s orientation but also it’s position.

Erle-Plane is a plane that thanks to its flight computer and onboard sensors has the ability make autonomous flights there, an UAV.