pygmyskunkrnd/X47B_FG — Issue #2: Autopilot program is problematic
Author: pygmyskunkrnd
Created: 2011-11-28 20:34:37+00:00
State: open

The issue is that the autopilot is VERY basic and has some serious issues in it's commands. One of the main issues is it's inability to make sure that it gets to the correct point before running the next command, primarily when the plane is in the command sections related to landing. Once the autopilot reaches this are of commands it is common to see the autopilot run through the final 3 or 4 commands at once, long before the plane is supposed to actually reach it's destination. Thus the autopilot NEVER does a successful landing, not once, not ever. At best it does a very controlled crash and 1 in 20 chance of this crash happening on the airfield, the rest of the time it crashes miles before the actual field.

While the autopilot program is powerful enough to get the plane airborne and to do basic maneuvers and GPS waypoint navigation, the autopilot totally fails when it comes to a landing of any kind.

This is a conclusion after hundreds of test flights, where I have witnessed only 1 controlled crash on the runway and only from a certain combination of commands. Once these commands were changed, failure was %100 no matter what was done.

Conclusion : Autopilot program is a failure and looking for a new autopilot system. This is after finding out that the original author abandoned the project due to the same issues.