Lidl Glider VTOL Plane

Hi Everyone!

This project is my first attempt at building a functional Ardupilot VTOL Plane.

Check out my new video to learn more about this project:

As mentioned in the video, VTOLs have many advantages over both traditional planes and drones and therefore I think they are definitely worth getting into. There are many Ardupilot VTOL configurations such as tailsitter or tilt rotors and I want to eventually try them all, but this project is based on the Quadplane configuration. QuadPlanes could be considered as the heaviest platform, since they have separate motors for Vertical and Horizontal lift, but that also gives them extra safety advantages. So for example if horizontal Plane motors fail, the Quad motors can take over and land safely. And they are also very fun to fly! So that’s why in this video i show you my full build process and setup guide of Arduplane VTOL Quadplane. You can treat it as a tutorial for your own VTOL projects, and you don’t need to use the same parts as I did, but to make your life easier, here is what I used:

Parts List:

1x Playtive Glider Plane (But probably any 85cm "Lidl Glider" will work)

3x SG90 or MG90S Servo

4x GEPRC GR1106

4x BetaFPV 1806 1550KV

2x SpeedyBee BLS 35A Mini V2 20x20 4-in-1 ESC

1x Speedybee F405 Wing Mini

1x SpeedyBee Nano ELRS 2.4Ghz Receiver

4x Cyclone T3018 T Propeller

4x Gemfan Hurricane LR6026

1x Walksnail WS-M181 GPS

1x Walksnail Avatar HD Kit

1x PX4 Airspeed Sensor MS4525DO

1x 3S 18650 VTC6 Battery Pack

1x SpeedyBee Battery Strap

4x 8mm Magnets for Snap on Canopy

-XT30 connectors

-M2 screws, washers and self locking nuts

-M3 screws, washers and self locking nuts

-Reinforced Tape (For making control surfaces)

-Duct Tape (For covering wires)

-CA Glue

-Hot Glue

-Balsa Wood (I used 3.5mm, check dimensions in CAD project)

-Wires (for motor,servo and battery extension)

-Carbon Tubes (check dimensions in CAD project)

-3D Printed Parts

To print most of these parts I used high performance FormFutura STYX PA6-CF15 filament. It's light and durable mix of Nylon plastic and Carbon fibers, perfect for RC models.
You can get it here: https://formfutura.com/product/styx-pa6-cf15-2/

I also included the Ardupilot Parameters file, which you can load in Mission Planner to your own FC. However I would advise to treat it more as a guide, you still need to calibrate each sensor yourself and blindly copying the same parameters might not work well on your own plane platform. Keep that in mind, and read Ardupilot VTOL wiki to learn more: https://ardupilot.org/plane/docs/quadplane-support.html

Couple Additional Notes about this project that I didn't really mentioned in the video:

-The CAD Lidl Glider body is not dimensionally accurate in all places, treat it more as an  illustrative model.

-It’s best to cut all the wing canals, servo holes and ailerons before attempting hot water straightening, as it will remove some foam and make the process easier.

-The pitot tube needs to point in the same direction as the plane nose, any angle might result in inaccurate airspeed readings. Also my placement near the vertical propeller is not ideal as any additional air movement might disturb the sensor.

-As I mentioned at the end of the video, the 4 small horizontal motors are not the best choice, due to their low efficiency and added wire weight. It might be better to do 2 bigger,puller wing motors or 1 big pusher motor. You could also build it with 1 big puller motor on the nose, but that will block the camera view. 

-The Lithium battery I used for this project is not ideal, since VTOLs can consume high currents during hover and transitions. In my case it also used high current during fast horizontal flights. So it might be better to use LiPo, higher current Lithium cells like VTC5A, or try 4S Lithium Pack instead.
 

If you liked the project and want to see more about it, you can support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BasementCreations