Hi Lingvo!
Currently I am using a mechanical surface follower in the front - the red foam thingy. It works reasonably well at the moment but of course active pitch control is the goal.
For the 1/5 scale model I did not believe the effort of the sensor is worth it, the flying height is quite low and most sensors are relatively slow reading, which would make it more difficult to stabilize. I also did not want to modify the pixhawk code yet to remove a complicated variable.
I do plan to build a life size version of this, with some basic specs of:
1.8 m rear wing
1.2m front wing
2kW battery
35km/h top speed
200kg load capacity
Full size version I will modify pixhawk autopilot code to change the “takeoff” and landing procedures, as well as other nuances of using the boat craft. Hope to design and insert a decent state space model into the pixhawk code in place of the PID so I can use multiple inputs and outputs for control. I do need to look into whether my hardware has enough cpu power but all that is down the road a ways.
As for your topic/objective, it may be difficult to just find some hardware to glue on electronics. The nature of the moving control surfaces, especially for roll control is something that needs to be designed into the wings. Just thinking about how you will create strong bearings and actuators is one of the main design areas that I had to work on for my project. Foils also usually do not have cavities in the wings for wires or cables which makes things more difficult that air planes.
Looking forward to chatting with you about this, funny we have similar ideas about taking these craft to the next level!
Also check out ray vellinga’s youtube channel from the international hydrofoil society
