So I read in the blog that the AVC is coming up. While I, being poor, may never get to attend the AVC, I got a burst of motivation to build an autonomous airplane. But I’m a noob and I’m poor. So I need to spend as little money as possible. Initially, I decided to grab an RC plane and strip the control board. But then I decided I might save money by adding motors and stuff to a styrofoam glider. All in all, it seems like it wouldn’t be too difficult to do. But…
I am looking into the control circuit right now. I plan on using two Arduino Uno’s as the control circuit on the aircraft and on the controller. I initially looked into Bluetooth modules and allowing any device to connect to the plane, like a dongle on my laptop, which I’d need to buy also. But Bluetooth doesn’t have the range I need. So I did some research and found [this module. It’s cheaper than my original plan by $20 if I go with [this antenna. Then it’s as simple as grabbing a project box and some buttons/switches. And landing gear. I really need those.
At the bare minimum, I could get away with sending only 8-bit numbers. Two for the elevator, two for the ailerons, (two for rudder and two for engine speed) or (four for engine speed and use an accelerometer for auto-rudder).
Now, what lead me to these products was the nRF24L01+'s acclaimed 100m connection distance and a comment pointing to that antenna; about how that antenna was needed to get near that 100m distance. Would you guys say this is a good choice, or would you recommend something else? Also, do these two modules connect automagically if they are close enough? I’d say probably not based on what topics I was able to find on it.
All the cool stuff like GPS will need to wait until I get more money. I’m just trying to get a functional plane right now.](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/558)](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/705)