## Spektre 1.2 Multi

- Rotor Aircraft

Overview and Operations Manual

3D Robotics Proprietary Information and Export Notification

This documen t contains technical information that is proprietary in nature and is intended for

use only by the customers and partners of 3D Robotics , Inc. Tec hnical data in this

document may also fall under specific export control laws. Information in this document

sh ould not be transferred to a foreign person without prior authorization from the appropriate

government agencies.SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 2 

## Page Intentionally Blank3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3 

### Table of Contents

List of Tables

................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 5

List of Figu res

................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 5

Scope

................................ ................................ ................................ .................... 7

Safety

................................ ................................ ................................ .................... 7

Manual Sections

................................ ................................ ................................ .. 7

Support Documentation

................................ ................................ ...................... 8

Abbreviations and Acronyms

................................ ................................ ............. 9

Revision History

................................ ................................ ................................ 11

Aircraft Description

................................ ................................ ........................... 13

General Description

................................ ................................ ................................ ... 13

Spektre 3 View Drawing

................................ ................................ ............................ 14

Aircraft Specifications a nd Performance Characteristics

................................ ..... 15

Autopilot and Avionics Overview

................................ ................................ ............. 16

Command and Control

................................ ................................ .............................. 17

Aircraft Communications Flow

................................ ................................ ................. 18

Electrical S ystem Overview

................................ ................................ ...................... 19

Propulsion System

................................ ................................ ................................ .... 20

Flight Control and Actuators

................................ ................................ .................... 21

Aircraft Payload

................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 23

Mission Planner Software Overview/ Operation

................................ ............. 24

Mission Planner Description

................................ ................................ .................... 24

Mission Planner Setup

................................ ................................ .............................. 25

Caching Map Data

................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 27

How to Plan a Mission

................................ ................................ ............................... 28

Se tting Failsafes for the Mission

................................ ................................ .............. 31

System Assembly and Setup

................................ ................................ ............ 33

Aircraft Assembly

................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 33

Leg and Arm Assembly

................................ ................................ ............................ 34

Battery Mounting

................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 36

Aircraft Inspection

................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 36

Aircraft Structure

................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 36

Propellers

................................ ................................ ................................ ................. 37

Motor Pod

................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 37

Aircraft Battery

................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 38

Payload

................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 39

Ground Control Station Assembly

................................ ................................ ........... 40

Remote Video Terminal Setup

................................ ................................ .................. 41

Radio Control Transmitter (RCTx) Setup

................................ ................................ 42

Aircraft Launch Procedures

................................ ................................ ............. 45

Normal Operational Procedures

................................ ................................ ....... 47

Flight Limitations:

................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 47SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 4 Aircraft Failsafes and Non

- Normal Flight Procedures

................................ ... 49

1. Aircraft Battery Failsafe

................................ ................................ .................... 49

2. Loss of GPS Signal

................................ ................................ ........................... 50

3. Geo

- Fence Excursion

................................ ................................ ....................... 51

4. EKF/ Inertial Navigation Health

................................ ................................ ......... 52

5. Telemetry/ GCS Link Failsafe

................................ ................................ ........... 52

6. RCTx Link Failsafe

................................ ................................ ........................... 53

Aircraft Recovery and System Disassembly

................................ ................... 55

Appendix

................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 57

Appendix A

- Flight Mode Description

................................ ................................ ..... 57

Appendix B

- Maintenance Schedule Matrix

................................ ........................... 58

Spektre Operations Checklist

................................ ................................ ........... 59

Preflight Briefing Guidelines

................................ ................................ .................... 59

Airspace Coordination

................................ ................................ ............................. 59

Flight Objectives

................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 59

Safety Items

................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 59

Non

- Normal Flight Procedures

................................ ................................ ................ 59

Preflight Procedures

................................ ................................ ......................... 60

Ground Statio n Assembly

................................ ................................ ........................ 60

Remote Video Terminal (RVT) Assembly

................................ ................................ 60

Aircraft Assembly

................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 60

Radio Control Transmitter Setup

................................ ................................ ............. 60

Aircraft Preflight

................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 61

Flight Plan Building

................................ ................................ ................................ .. 61

Aircraft Launch

................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 61

Normal Flight Procedures

................................ ................................ ......................... 61

Non

- Normal Flight Procedures / Aviate

- Navigate

- Communicate

...................... 62

Aircraft Recovery and Disassembly

................................ ................................ ........ 62

Notes

................................ ................................ ................................ ................... 633D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

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## List of Tables

Table 1

- Abbreviations and Acronyms

................................ ................................ .. 9

Table 2

- Spekt re Aircraft General Specifications

................................ ................ 15

Table 3

- PixHawk Autopilot Specifications

................................ ......................... 16

Table 4

- Radio Frequency Matrix

................................ ................................ ....... 17

Table 5

– Spektre Motor Specifications

................................ ............................... 20

Table 6

- Electronic Speed Controller Specifications

................................ ........... 22

Table 7

- Tools and Hardware Required for Aircraft Assembly

........................... 33

Table 8

- Aircraft Inventory Sheet

................................ ................................ ........ 33

Table 9

- Aircraft Battery Failsafe Details

................................ ............................ 49

Table 10

– Loss of GPS Failsafe Details

................................ ............................. 50

Table 11

– Geo

- Fence Failsafe Details

................................ ............................... 51

Table 12

– EKF Var iance Failsafe Details

................................ ........................... 52

Table 13

– Telemetry/ GCS Link Failsafe

................................ ............................ 52

Table 14

– RCTx Link Failsafe

................................ ................................ ............ 53

Table 15

- Flight Mode Descriptions

................................ ................................ .... 57

Table 16

- Spektre Maintenance Schedule

................................ .......................... 58



## List of Figures

Figure 1

- Spektre Multi

- rotor Aircraft

................................ ................................ .. 13

Figure 2

- Spektre 3 View Drawing

................................ ................................ ...... 14

F igure 3

- Communications Flow

................................ ................................ ......... 18

Figure 4

- Spektre Electrical System Diagram

................................ ..................... 19

Figure 5

– Spektre Motor

................................ ................................ ..................... 20

Figure 6

- Spektre Motor/ Propeller Directions

................................ .................... 21

Figure 7

– 3DR 36x Zoom EO Payload

................................ ............................... 23

Figure 8

- 3DR IR/ EO Payload

................................ ................................ ........... 23

Figure 9

- Mission Planner Overview

................................ ................................ ... 24

Figure 10

- Mission Planner Confi guration Window

................................ ............. 25

Figure 11

– Mission Planner Time in Air Selection

................................ .............. 26

Figure 12

- HUD showing Time in Air

................................ ................................ .. 26

Figure 13

- Caching Maps

................................ ................................ ................... 27

Figure 14

- Mission Planner

– Autopilot Communications

................................ ... 28

Figure 15

- MP Heads up Display

................................ ................................ ........ 29

Figure 16

- Flight Planner Window

................................ ................................ ...... 30

Figure 17

- Failsafe Configuratio n Window

................................ .......................... 31

Figure 18

- Aircraft Leg Assembly

................................ ................................ ....... 34

Figure 19

- Arm Bolt Installation

................................ ................................ .......... 35

Figure 20

- Aircraft Structure Inspection

................................ .............................. 36

Figur e 21

- Propeller Inspection

................................ ................................ ........... 37

Figure 22

- Motor Pod Inspection

................................ ................................ ........ 37

Figure 23

- Battery Inspection

................................ ................................ .............. 38

Figure 24

- Payload Inspection

................................ ................................ ............ 39SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 6 F igure 25

- Telemetry Radio

................................ ................................ ................ 40

Figure 26

- Remote Video Terminal Example

................................ ...................... 41

Figure 27 Inspection

- RCTx Setup and

................................ .............................. 42

Figure 28

- RCTx Switch Mapping

................................ ................................ ....... 43

Figure 29

- Auto Mode Selection in MP

................................ ............................... 463D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 7 

## Scope

This manual contains the system description, aircraft assembly and disassembly

procedures, operator’s responsibilities during normal and non

- nor mal operations,

and a condensed version of these procedures ( operations checklist).



## Safety

Varying levels of safety warnings are called out in this manual with the definitions

as follows:

Note

- An operating procedure, practice, or condition, etc., which i s essential

to emphasize.

Caution

- An operating procedure, practice, or condition, etc., which if not

strictly observed, may cause damage to the equipment.

Warning

- An operating procedure, practice, or condition, etc., which may

result in personnel inj ury or death if not carefully observed or followed.



## Manual Sections

This manual contains the following major sections:

1. Aircraft Description

– A brief description of the aircraft and the

performa nce and physical specifications to include flight controller and

propulsion system information.

2. Mission Planner Software Overview / Operation

– D escription of the

Mission Planner operating software , setup and basic functionality

. 3. System Assembly and Setup

– Procedures outlining the aircraft , GCS

and RVT assembly.

4. Opera tional Procedures

– Overview of the proper preflight, in flight and

recovery procedures for the Spektre aircraft.

5. System Disassembly

– Procedures outlining the aircraft, GCS and RVT

disassembly.

6. Non

- Normal Procedures

– Descriptions and how to perform aircr aft and

ground station emergency procedures.

7. Appendix

– List of various charts, tables and special procedures.

8. Spektre Operations Checklist

– Condensed version of the Operational

Procedures.SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 8 

## Support Documentation

Support documentation and additional material regarding the autopilot and

functionality can be found online at: http://www.copter.ardupilot.com3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 9 

## Abbreviations and Acronyms

Table 1

- Abbreviations and Acron yms

Abbreviation Definition

AC Alternating Current

AES Advanced Encryption Standard

AGL Above Ground Level

Ah Amp Hours

AP Autopilot

ASL Above Sea Level

ATP Acceptance Test Procedure

AV Air Vehicle

AVO Air Vehicle Operator

CM Centimeter

DA Densi ty Altitude

dBm Power Ratio in Decibel

DC Direct Current

DEG Degrees

DTED Digital Terrain Elevation Data

ELOC Electronic Loss of Communications

EO Electro

- Optical

EO/IR Electro

- Optical / Infrared

EP External Pilot

ESC Electronic Speed Control

ESD Electro Static Discharge

FOD Foreign Object Debris

FMU Flight Management Unit

FW Firmware

GCS Ground Control Station

GHz Gigahertz

GPS Global Positioning System

GSE Ground Support Equipm ent

GTOW Gross Take

- off Weight

GUI Graphical User Interface

HDOP Horizontal Dilution of Precision

IAS Indicated Airspeed

IR Infrared

In Inch

INS Inertial Navigation System

ISM Industrial, Scientific, and Medical

I2C Inter Integrated CircuitSPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 10 Kg Ki logram

KHz Kilohertz

Km Kilometer

Kw Kilowatt

Kv RPM/ Volt

Lbs Pounds

LED Light

- Emitting Diode

LOS Line of Sight

M Meter

mA Milliamp

mAh Milliamp

- Hour

MHz Megahertz

mm Millimeter

mW Mill watt

MP Mission Planner

MSL Mean Sea Level

m/s Meters per second

n m Nanometer

NM Nautical Mile

NTSC National Television System Committee

OAT Outside Air Temperature

OZ Ounce

PAL Phase Alternate Line

PPM Puls e Position Modulation

PWM Pulse Width Modulation

RCTx Radio Control Transmitter

RF Radio Frequency

RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator

RVT Remote Video Terminal

TCP Transmission Control Protocol

SPI Serial Peripheral Interface

UAS Unmanned Aeri al System

UART Universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter

UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

UPS Uninterruptible Power Supply

USB Universal Serial Bus

V Volts

VAC Volts Alternating Current

VDC Volts Direct Current

W Watt

WP Waypoint3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 11 

## Revision History

R evision

Level Release Date Description of Change Affected

sections/

Pages

Rev. A 16 January 2015 Initial document release A llSPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 12 

## Page Intentionally Blank3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 13 

## Aircraft Description

General Descr iption

The Spektre is a multi

- rotor, vertical takeoff and landing aerial vehicle produced

by 3D Robotics Inc. of Berkeley, California, USA. The aircraft has four rotors in

an “X” configuration and is designed to carry several payloads to perform various

co mmercial tasks such as industrial inspection and mapping.

The airframe is comprised primarily of lightweight carbon fiber and composite

plastic parts to achieve an optimal strength to weight ratio. The airframe and

subcomponents have been designed and te sted to withstand the stress loadings

witnessed in normal flight conditions while retaining ample safety factors.

Figure 1

- Spektre Multi

- rotor AircraftSPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 14 

### Spektre 3 View Drawing

Figure 2

- Spektre 3 View DrawingUNLESS O/W SPECIFIEDDIMENSIONS ARE ININCHES.X =.030.XX =.020.XXX =.005REMOVE SHARPEDGES AND BURRS.020 MAXNEXT ASSYTHE INFORMATIONCONTAINED IN THISDRAWING IS THE SOLEPROPERTY OF 3DROBOTICS, INC. ANYREPRODUCTION INPART OR AS A WHOLEWITHOUT THE WRITTENPERMISSION OF 3DROBOTICS, INC. ISPROHIBITED.TITLESAN DIEGO, CA92154TEL: (858) 225-1414FAX: (619) 271-8000REVSIZEDESIGNEDENG MGRCHECKEDDRAWNTHIRD ANGLEPROJECTIONPRCMTMFGQASHEET 1 OF 1SCALE: 1:4SPEKTRE 1.2 - 3DR PAYLOADXADJRWJRW1/6/201511/19/2014661269003566126319131/6/2015 11:08:56 AMREVISIONSREVDESCRIPTIONDATEAPPROVEDXAPROTOTYPE04-30-2013DCBAABCD1234567887654321EFEF REV D XA3. FINISH: N/A2. MATERIAL: N/A1. DESIGN AND CONFIGURATION OF THIS DRAWING TO BE INTERPRETED PER ASME Y14.100,DIMENSIONING AND TOLERANCING TO BE INTERPRETED PER ASME Y14.5-2009NOTES: UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 15 

### Aircraft Specifications and Performance Characteristics

Ke y physical and flight parameters are listed in table 2.

Table 2

- Spektre Aircraft General Specifications

Parameter Value ( Imperial ) Value (Metric)

Gross Take off Weight (GTO W) 10 lbs 4,530 g

Rotor S pan 52 In 1,320 mm

Height 13 In 319 mm

Fuel Type Electric/ Lithium Polymer Batteries

Nominal Payload Capacity ~1.1 lbs ~500 g

3DR Payload Option 36x zoom EO and/ or Infrared s ensor

Trillium HD25 Payload EO/ IR

- E. Stab and Inertial stab.

Command and Control (C2) Manual Control via RCTx operating on 2.4 GHz,

frequency hopping

Command and Control Range .75 NM 1.4 Km

Aircraft Telemetry Up to 1 watt, discrete, frequency agil e, ISM

band, bi

- directional radio modem (Rx/ Tx)

Aircraft Telemetry Range ~1.0 NM 1.8 Km

Video Transmitter 600mW Analog or 27dBm Digital Link

Video Transmitter Range ~ 1.0 NM 1.8 Km

Launch Type

- Procedure Vertical Takeoff

– Manual or Auto

Recovery T ype

- Procedure Vertical Landing

– Manual or Auto

Navigation

- Horizontal GPS / INS

Navigation

- Vertical Barometer / INS

Nominal Mission Altitudes

(AGL) 20

- 350 ft 6

- 107 m

Service Ceiling (@GTOW) 8,000 ft MSL 2,400 m

Nominal Mission Endurance ~30 minutes

Cruise Ground/ Airspeed 5 kts 2.5 m/s

Maximum Ground/ Airspeed 30 kts 15.5 m/s

Max Climb Rate 1,000 fp m 5.0 m/s

Max Descent Rate 500 fp m 2.5 m/s

Headwind Limitation 20 kts 10.3 m/s

Crosswind Limitation 20 kts 10.3 m/s

Turbulence Rating Ligh t

(OAT) Operating Range 20 ° F

- 100 ° F

Shipping Container Size

- Weight 52 x 22 x 15 inches

70 lbs 1.32 x .56 x .38 m

31.75 KgSPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 16 

### Autopilot and Avionics Overview

The aircraft flight stabilization and navigation management is

accomplished by the PixHawk a utopilot system, which runs a flight control

fir m ware stack called ArduCopter 3.2.x in the NuttX operating system

.

The PixHawk autopilot boasts a suite of sensors where incoming data is

managed by a robust inertial measurement un it (IMU) utilizing an ext ended

K alman filter (EKF) algorithm. This logic makes efficient use of the single and

redundant sensors creating a reliable system with fail

- back capabilities.

Table 3

- PixHawk Autopilot Specifications

Processor

32

- bit ARM Cort ex M4 core with FPU, 168 MHz / 256 KB RAM/ 2 MB Flash

32

- bit STM32F103 failsafe co

- processor

Sensors

Dual 3 axis 16

- bit ST Micro L3GD20H gyro for determining orientation.

Dual 3 axis 14

- bit accelerometer and magnetometer for determining outside

influenc es and compass heading.

Provision for external magnetometer with automatic switchover if desired.

MEAS MS5611 barometric pressure sensor for determining altitude.

Built in voltage and current sensing for battery condition determination.

Options for dua l externally mounted UBLOX LEA GPS for determining absolute

position

. I/O Interfaces

Fourteen PWM servos or ESC speed control outputs.

Five UART (serial ports), one high

- power capable, 2x with HW flow control.

Two CAN I/O ports (one with internal 3.3V transceiver, one on expansion

connector)

PPM sum signal input.

RSSI (PWM or voltage) input.

I2C and SPI serial ports.

Two 3.3 volt and one 6.6 volt a nalog inputs.

Internal microUSB port and external microUSB type

- B port extension.

Contains its own on board microcontroller and stacks with the FMU.

Power System

The PixHawk is supplied with an in line power supply with voltage and current

sensor outputs.

Ideal diode controller with redundant power supply inputs and automatic fail

- over.

Servo rail high

- power (max. 10V) and high

- current (10A+) ready.

All peripheral outputs are over

- current protected and all inputs are ESD

protected.

The provided external safety button enables safe motor activation / deactivation.

Piezo buzzer audio warnings, Flight st atus indicators and driver for high

brightness external multicolored LED3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 17 

### Command and Control

There are a total of three radio frequency (RF) links that control and

communicate with the autopilot/ aircraft. All links are operating within the ISM

bands prov ided for industrial use and operate simultaneously without

interference

.

Mission plan data is transmitted via Mavlink (a serial telemetry data protocol) on

the GCS/ Telemetry radio link and is received by an identical radio which

communicates data to the Mission Planner GUI.

Safety pilot commands are transmitted to the vehicle on 2.4GHz and are

received onboard by a separate recevier (typical RC equipment). The PWM

signal reveived is then converted to PPM and sent to the flight management unit.

Table 4 describes the RF link ( s ) functionality and operating frequencies.

Table 4

- Radio Frequency Matrix

Description Transmission

Device

– Power

Magnitude Function Frequency

GCS/ Telemetry

Radio Bi Directional

serial, UART radio

modem with 128

bit AES encryption

available

– Adjustable up to 1

Watt Ground station to

aircraft

communications

for health

monitoring and

flight plan

management 902

– 928 MHz,

frequency hopping

over 50 channels

Video Link Commercial grade

a nalog video

transmitt er

- 600

mW Video downlink to

the remote video

terminal (RVT) 5.8 GHz

Radio Control Radio Control

hand held

transmitter

- 120

mW Camera

manipulation and

safety pilot/

manual control 2.4 GHzSPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 18 

### Aircraft Communications Flow

The aircraft’s communicat ions flow is depicted in figure 3

.

Figure 3

- Communications Flow3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 19 

### Electrical System Overview

The Spektre is an electrically powered aircraft that receives power for propulsion

and onboard systems from a single Lithium P olymer battery pack. The battery

pack is under

- slung beneath the fuselage and provides a nominal voltage of 22.2

VDC and has a capacity of 13.0 Ah. This produces a flight time of ~30 minutes

with 20% battery capacity in reserve.

The avionics system requi res 5V and draws approximately 800 mA. The

propulsion syste m draws 24 amps in hover and at cruise groundspeed, with a

maximum of 40 amps observed in high wind scenarios

.

Payloads typically requir e 5

- 12V and draw approximately 2 amp s or less. On

board vol tage, current, and battery percentage monitoring provides power

system health status to the pilot through the telemetry radio and is displayed on

the Mission Planner GUI

.

Figure 3 shows the distribution of power and signals to and from the autopilot

and subsystems.

Figure 4

- Spektre Electrical System DiagramSPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 20 

### Propulsion System

The Spektre is outfitted with four rotors for propulsion and control. Each rotor is

driven by a 24

- pole, 380Kv brushless electric moto r. Motors are designed for

long life and low maintenance . Radial bearings are ABEC

- 7 rated. Stators are

constructed using 0.2mm silicon steel laminations and ultra

- high temperature

pure

- copper windings. All windings are secured with a continuous Kevlar

- tie wrap

around all stator teeth. The magnet bell uses N40UH and N450UH Neodymium

sintered

- magnets, an upper magnet retaining ring, machined slots, and epoxy

bonds to secure a permanent magnet connection. Additional motor specifications

are listed in Table 5

.

Table 5

– Spektre Motor Specifications

Kv 380

RPM/V Bearings Triple, 694ZZ/634ZZ

Continuous

Current 36+ A Mount

Pattern 4 x M4/3 x 25 mm, 3 x M3/2.5 x

32 mm

Continuous

Power 1065+ W Mot or

Weight 155 g (210 g with wires/bullets)

Maximum

Efficiency >91% Propeller

Size Up to 18”

Voltage Range 14.8

– 29.6 V Motor

Timing 22

– 30 deg

Io (210V) 0.6 A ESC PWM

Rate 8

- 16 KHz

Rm (wind

resistance) 0.075 Ohm Magnetic

Poles 24

Figure 5

– Spektre Motor3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 21 

### Flight Control and Actuators

The Spektre is controlled via differential thrust of the four rotors using

commanded rotor speed. Figure 5 shows the orientation and direction of rotation

for each rotor in the “X” configur ation. An electronic speed controller (ESC) is

dedicated to each motor to apply power and change RPM as directed by the

autopilot.

Figure 6

- Spektre Motor/ Propeller DirectionsSPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 22 The ESCs used on the Spektre featur e dynamic PWM and motor advance timing

algorithms and 490 Hz refresh rate for high

- speed response to flight control

commands. Critical components of the ESC are protected by two thermal

- epoxy

bonded aluminum heat sinks. Table 6 lists the specifications of the ESCs.

Table 6

- Electronic Speed Controller Specifications

Refresh rate 600 Hz PWM Rate 16 KHz

Maximum

Current 95 a (5s burst) Advance

Timing 22

- 30 deg

Maximum Power 2790 W (5s burst) Weight 32 g (54g with

wires/bullets)

C ontinuous

Current 55+ A Power Leads 13 AWG, 200 deg C

Continuous

Power 1625+ W Motor Leads 15 AWG, 200 deg C

Maximum

Efficiency >98% ESC Lead 22 AWG, 3

- wire JR

Voltage Range 7.4

– 29.6 V Maximum

RPM 240,000 RPM3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 23 

### Aircraft Payload

The Spektre can carry various cameras on an external 2 or 3

- axis gimbal

platform mounted beneath the center section. Figures 7 and 8 show examples of

payload types. For instructions on a specific payload please see the operations

c hecklist and manufacturer data.

Figure 7

– 3DR 36x Zoom EO Payload

Figure 8

- 3DR IR/ EO PayloadSPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 24 

## Mi ssion Planner S oftware Overview / Operation

Mission Planner Description

Mission planner (MP) is th e command and control graphical user interface (GUI)

between the operator and the aircraft for running in a Windows environment . This

software is used to plan autonomous missions, monitor aircraft health,

dynamically re

- task the aircraft in

- flight and setup aircraft functionalities; e.g.

failsafe’s, sensor calibration and camera configurations.

Figure 9

- Mission Planner Overview3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 25 

### Mission Planner Setup

Mission Planner is a free download that can be found at

ardupilot.com/downloads/

. The Downloads portion of the website is always

updated with li nks to the latest download for your specific operating system.

Once downloaded, navigate to the “Downloads” folder and extract the zipped file

to the directory of your choice.

1. Double click the MP installer executable and follow the step s through the

insta llation process.

2. After installing MP, open the application.

3. Select the Config/ Tuning Page from the top

- level menu and then select the

“Planner” Tab on the left.

Figure 10

- Mission Planner Configuration Window

4. Select the ap propriate units of measurement for distance and speed for your

area and air traffic control.

5. Check the “Enable Speech” box to enable audible alerts.

6. Select the Flight Data page from the top

- level menu.SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 26 7. Right Click in the HUD and select “ User Items ” from the drop down box.

8. Check the “Time in Air ” box to add a flight timer into the HUD.

Figure 11

– Mission Planner Time in Air Selection

9. The time in Air data field will then be populated as shown in figure 11.

Figur e 12

- HUD showing Time in Air3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 27 

### Caching Map Data

Satellite imagery of the area you intend to fly is only available in the field if the

user has cached the imagery for the area. This is accomplished from the

Planning window found in the top

- level menu.

1. Open the Planning Window

2. Ensure that an Internet connection is available and navigate the map to the

area to be flown.

3. Zoom in as far as possible until the area to be flown fills the entire screen.

4. Right click anywhere on the map and select “Map Tool ” from the drop down.

5. Select the “ Prefetch ” option and answer yes to the next popup window.

Figure 13

- Caching MapsSPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 28 

### How to Plan a Mission

1. Connect the GCS/ Telemetry radio to an open USB port on the GCS

computer.

2. S elect the appropriate comm port from the communications drop down

located in the upper right hand corner of MP . This will typically be the only

comm port available.

3. Select a baud rate of 57600 from the drop down window to the right of the

comm port drop down.

4. Press the connect icon to the right of the b aud rate drop down and MP will

then begin to connect and pull parameters from the autopilot.

Figure 14

- Mission Planner

– Autop ilot Communications3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 29 5. After the connection is complete the user can see information in the artificial

horizon such as: battery voltage, altitude and indicated airspeed start to

populate and change.

Figure 15

- MP Head s up DisplaySPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 30 6. Select the Planner window to begin planning an autonomous mission.

7. Set the “Default Alt” to your desired altitude of the flight plan. Keep in mind

that the altitude for the waypoints are recorded in above ground level (AGL)

relati ve to the altitude when the aircraft in armed.

8. Left click a location on the map where a waypoint or command point is to be.

Continue to do this until all of the waypoints and command points for the

mission are populated.

9. Open the waypoint matrix window by selecting the double arrows on the right

hand side of the waypoints bar, located below the map window. This is

highlighted in figure 16

. 10. Configure the waypoints and commands points as necessary and send the

flight plan to the aircraft by selecting the “Wr ite WPs” button.

11. You can verify that the WP’s were received by requesting the flight plan data

from the aircraft by selecting the Read WP’s button.

Figure 16

- Flight Planner Window3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 31 

### Setting Failsafes for the Mission

The re are several failsafe settings available for multiple types of failure modes.

System failsafe can be set from the Failsafes tab located in the Initial Setup

window. A full description of failsafe conditions and events is described in tables

9 through 14 under the Failsafe’s and Non

- Normal Operations section of this

manual.

Figure 17

- Failsafe Configuration WindowSPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 32 

## Page Intentionally Blank3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 33 

## System Assembly and Setup

Aircraft Assembly

This section of the manual describes how to correctly assemble the Spektre

aircraft in preparation for flight. The operator should always follow the pres cribed

preflight checklist before every flight.

The tools and h ardware for aircraft assembly are described in T able 7

.

Table 7

- Tools and Hardware Required for Aircraft Assembly

Quantity Description

1 Hand Operated Screw driver f or arm bolts

4 M3 x 40 mm arm bolts

4 M3 Thumb Nuts

1. Inventory the aircraft and aircraft parts. The inventory sheet can be found in

the lid of the aircraft case.

Table 8

- Aircraft Inventory Sheet

Spektre Aircraft Inventory

Qu antity Description

1 Spektre Aircraft

1 Aircraft Manufacturing and Data Log

1 Aircraft Flight Log

1 GCS/ Telemetry Radio

2 GCS/ Telemetry Radio Antenna

1 Radio Control Transmitter

1 Spektre Tool Kit

2. Remove the aircraft from the case by lifting up on the aircraft arms and slowly

pulling the aircraft up. Warning

Los s of aircraft or injury to personnel or property can occur if these steps are not

followed carefully.SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 3D ROBOTICS, INC 34 Leg and Arm Assembly

1. Exten d the aircraft legs until they are engaged into the leg mounts.

Figure 18

- Aircraft Leg Assembly3D ROBOTICS, INC SPEKTRE OPERATIONS M AN.

– REV. A 35 2. Swing the aircraft arms out to where the arm bolt holes are aligned with the

arm/ body plate mounting locations.

3. Insert the four M3 x 40 mm arm screws into the arm mounting locations until

the heads are resting flush on the aircraft top shell.

4. By hand, screw on the four M3 thumb nuts onto the arm bolts from the

underside of the aircraft.

5. Using the supplied screwdriver , tighten the arm bolts while holding the

thumbnuts until the fastener is very secure.

Figure 19

- Arm Bolt Installation