Freefly Alta X

ALTA X | Freefly Publicfreefly.gitbook.io

Freefly Alta X Manufacturer Documentation

Freefly Alta X (GRYFN)

GRYFN does not recommend using Alta QGroundControl for flight planning. Instead, please use the latest stable release of QGroundControl.

However, Alta QGroundControl is still a required installation should an operator want to adjust vehicle parameters of the Freefly Alta X. Vehicle settings can only be adjusted using Alta QGC.

Freefly Pilot Pro Operations

On Pilot Pro, use the S2 switch to navigate between Position flight mode and Mission mode.

Flight Planning

STEP	ACTION
1	Open QGroundControl on a PC
2	Click Plan
3	Click Survey
4	Remove Takeoff and Return to Launch commands
5	Click Survey command
6	Choose Basic or Load KML/SHP
7	Move corner coordinates to Area of Interest (allow at least 1m buffer for every 1m/s of flight speed)
8	Set survey Altitude
9	Set Spacing (between adjacent passes)
10	Set course Angle
11	Set Turnaround Distance (≥2m for every 1m/s flight speed for hyperspectral collection)
12	Click Mission Start command
13	Check the Flight Speed box and set flight speed Flight Speed box must be checked regardless of flight speed desired
14	File -> Save As...
15	Upload .PLAN file to Google Drive/Dropbox/etc
16	Download .PLAN file to Pilot Pro
17	On Pilot Pro, move the .PLAN file to Internal_Storage\QGroundControl\Missions Need to make sure latest QGroundControl APK for Android is installed
18	Open QGroundControl on Pilot Pro
19	File -> Open -> Select flight plan file
20	Ensure flight parameters and survey area are correct

Uploading Flight Plan to Aircraft

STEP	ACTION
1	Establish connection between RC Transmitter and Aircraft
2	Open QGroundControl on the RC Transmitter
3	Plan -> File -> Open... the flight plan
4	Press Upload Required at the top of the screen
5	Flight plan will sync to aircraft

UXV Navigator 3 (for Alta X Blue) Operations

Flight Planning

STEP	ACTION
1	Open HPI Polygon Tool
2	Create area for hyperspectral GPS Polygon Include buffer area around Area of Interest (minimum 2m for every 1m/s flight speed)
3	Export as KML
4	Upload KML file to Google Drive/Drobox/Etc
5	Download KML file to UXV Navigator 3
6	Open QGroundControl on UXV Navigator 3
7	Click Plan
8	Click Survey
9	Remove Takeoff and Return to Launch commands
10	Click Survey command
11	Choose Load KML/SHP
12	Set survey Altitude
13	Set Spacing (between adjacent passes)
14	Set course Angle
15	Set Turnaround Distance (2m for every 1m/s flight speed for hyperspectral collection)
16	Click Mission Start command
17	Check the Flight Speed box and set flight speed Flight Speed box must be checked regardless of flight speed desired
18	File -> Save As...

Uploading Flight Plan to Aircraft

STEP	ACTION
1	Establish connection between RC Transmitter and Aircraft
2	Open QGroundControl on the RC Transmitter
3	Plan -> File -> Open... the flight plan
4	Press Upload Required at the top of the screen
5	Flight plan will sync to aircraft

Herelink Black/Blue Operations

Flight Planning

STEP	ACTION
1	Open QGroundControl on a PC
2	Click Plan
3	Click Survey
4	Remove Takeoff and Return to Launch commands
5	Click Survey command
6	Choose Basic or Load KML/SHP
7	Move corner coordinates to Area of Interest (allow at least 1m buffer for every 1m/s of flight speed)
8	Set survey Altitude
9	Set Spacing (between adjacent passes)
10	Set course Angle
11	Set Turnaround Distance (≥2m for every 1m/s flight speed for hyperspectral collection)
12	Click Mission Start command
13	Check the Flight Speed box and set flight speed Flight Speed box must be checked regardless of flight speed desired
14	File -> Save As...

GCS Telemetry

Herelink Overview | CubePilotdocs.cubepilot.org

Typically, the Herelink radio transmitter will be used in conjunction with a "field laptop" which can be used for sensor setup, post-flight data confirmation and QA/QC, etc.

• To establish a connection between the Herelink and laptop, begin by navigating to the system settings.

  • This can be done by going to the home screen and locating the Settings app, or by swiping down from the top of the screen and pressing the Settings icon

• Go to WiFi settings

• Enable hotspot

• On the field laptop, connect to the Herelink hotspot

  • Note: The Herelink hotspot does not provide an internet connection. The hotspot is simply used for communicating with a field laptop/tablet/phone.

WiFi network profile type must be set to Private Network.

• Open ground control software on the field laptop

• Once UAV is on, the Herelink will connect to the UAV and the field laptop's ground control software should establish a connection with the UAV

Uploading Flight Plan to Aircraft and Syncing to RC Transmitter

STEP	ACTION
1	Establish connection between RC Transmitter and laptop after aircraft is powered on
2	On laptop, Plan -> File -> Open... the flight plan
3	Press Upload Required at the top of the screen
4	Flight plan will sync to aircraft
5	On RC Transmitter, Plan -> File -> Download... to sync the flight plan to the RC Transmitter

Begin Flight Operations

STEP	ACTION
1	After uploading flight plan from laptop and downloading to RC Transmitter...
2	Perform manual takeoff and alignment procedure
3	Press and hold Auto button (top right button) for 2 seconds to enter autonomous mission mode
4	Aircraft should navigate to mission start and begin autonomous mission
5	When survey is concluded, press and hold Auto button for 2 seconds to return to Position flight mode
6	Manually fly the aircraft back towards home, perform post-flight alignment procedure, and land.

Flight Plan to Hyperspectral Polygon (optional method of creating flight plans from hyperspectral capture polygon)

Headwall Polygon Tool

STEP	ACTION
1	Open your flight plan file in QGroundControl on PC
2	Open HPI Polygon Tool
3	Click Import Text
4	Format should be as follows: #Polygon_Name Latitude1, Longitude1 Latitude2, Longitude2 Latitude3, Longitude3 Latitude4, Longitude4
5	In QGroundControl, click the first corner coordinate of your survey area
6	Copy and paste the latitude and longitude into HPI Polygon Tool
7	Return to QGroundControl, click the second corner coordinate of your survey area
8	Copy and paste the latitude and longitude into HPI Polygon Tool
9	Repeat these steps for the remaining corner coordinates
10	After all coordinates have been entered, press OK
11	Export as KML -> Save KML
12	Rename the KML file with an appropriate name and save all KML files in an easily accessible directory.
13	Pilot Pro can potentially replace the need for an in-field laptop with GOBI systems, if a user chooses not to confirm data file sizes post-flight. Download the KML polygon to the Pilot Pro, connect Pilot Pro to GOBI WiFi, setup sensors for GOBI using Pilot Pro, upload KML polygon to hyperspectral sensor from Pilot Pro.