Initially the team planned to use a quad copter to collect data from the ground sensor nodes. However due to range and efficiency, we have decided to use a fixed wing remote control plane to be the transportation tool.

Air frame Selection:

RC plane model that our team will be using for our first prototype will the Sky Surfer X8 with a wingspan of 1410mm. This plane model is a high wing trainer plane, high wing plane generally has low center of gravity which would promote good lateral stability. A plane would with good lateral stability would help to overcome side slip and correcting rolling moments. Which would be beneficial for first time RC plane flyers like us.

The Sky Surfer X8 is also a pusher plane, where the motor and propellers are mounted at the back the plane. There are various benefits from this configuration.

• The propeller is well protected. In the event of nose landing or unfortunate crashes, the damage to the motors would be at minimal.
• It would not obstruct the view of our FPV.

The EPO (Expanded PolyOlefin) material of the Sky Surfer also makes maintenance and repair easier.

Motor & Propellers:

The suggested configuration of the Sky Surfer X8 is a A2212 KV2200 brushless out runner motor paired with a 6 X 4 APC propeller. However, to increase the efficiency and thrust of the plane, we have decided to upgrade the motor with a Dual Sky ECO2814 (1330kV) brushless out runner motor paired with a 7 x 6 APC propeller.

However, the current airframe only support up to 6 inch propeller, hence we will be getting a motor mount to further enhance the performance of the motor by pairing the motor with a 7 inch propeller.

ESC:

Selection of ESC is based on our motor selection. Hence for the Dual Sky ECO2814 (1330kV) the suggested ESC in the datasheet the max current draw is at 36.9A. Hence the ESC chosen is a XRotor 40A ESC.

Servo:

The recommended servo is a 9g servo, however the servo that came with the kit is a plastic gear servo. Plastic gears servo are more likely to strip if the motor is jammed or overloaded. Compared to metal gear servo which are longer lasting. We then decided to go ahead with the EMAX 12g Metal Gear Servo.

LiPo:

Battery Capacity is mainly determined by the motor choosen. Hence, with reference to the datasheet of the Dual Sky ECO2814 (1330kV, we have decided to use the Turnigy nano-tech 2200mah 3S 35~70C w/ XT60.

Lipo Alarm:

The lipo alarm is a device to be plug into the lipo balance lead. It will release a “alarm” when the LiPo voltage falls below 3.3V.  Which is essential in notifying us when the voltage is low. 

Video FPV:

Spotter V2 attach with a build in transmitter of 5.8GHz