PIXHAWK + Traditional Helis.... Where do we stand?

[onepiece]

Like many HF readers I too am anxiously following all news on PIXHAWK APM development for TRADITIONAL HELIs.

Seems that there is a conspicuous absence of support for or info on using this fabulous APM on traditional helis. Sad, considering there is only the expensive DJI options that attain the features that the PIXHAWK seems to provide for multicopters.

I've scoured what I can and it appears that so far, there will be little to no focus for traditional helis. Hope someone can prove me wrong. Rob?? 3D Robotics spokesperson?? Others?

Even the pages devoted to PIXHAWK set ups and Quick Starts...for example:
https://pixhawk.ethz.ch/px4/users/first_steps
say nothing about Traditional Helis - they've got fixed wing planes and ground rovers covered but not trad helis. References to the pin outs for PIXHAWK talk about connections to multicopter motors...not to traditional heli servos. This is not the case in APM 2.5 discussions and associated set up documents.

Additionally, in the set up "Tutorial Video", it doesn't appear that traditional heli airframes are even a set up option!

Can anyone in the know shed some light?

Thank you.

[R_Lefebvre]

I'm going to try to clarify a few things.

First, you used the term 'APM' but that is actually the older generation of flight controller. It does work on helis, I've got tons of video as evidence of that. And the setup is fairly well documented here:

http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/tra...l-helicopters/

You are correct that there is less attention paid to helicopters than there is to quads. That's just basic economics. They probably sell 1000 APM's for multirotor use for every 1 that they sell for helicopters. Well, maybe it's 100:1, I'm not sure but... It's just kind of how the market is.

I do try offer as much support as I can, but I'm just one guy. A big part of the ecosystem for Arducopter is that the community itself does much of the support. And helicopters just don't seem to reach the critical mass where there are lots of guys talking about it.

Now, the pages you linked are actually not the correct ones for Arducopter anyway. Those are created by ETH, which is a school in Switzerland. They mostly designed the board, and 3DR manufactures it. ETH uses their own program entirely.

What you want to look at is the documentation for Arducopter, which is the program we are using. That is the link I gave above. There's lots of info there. You also have to read most of the multirotor pages, as most of the info crosses over (how to run missions, how to download logs, etc.). It is a LOT of info, but then it has to be as the system is very powerful and flexible. It has a lot of features.

The wiki pages I linked above are dedicated to APM, not Pixhawk, but both boards use the same program, so most of the info is the same. You still connect the swash servos to RC Output 1-3, and the rudder servo to 4, etc. The only significant difference is the Pixhawk only has PPM Sum input, so you don't have to worry about the input wiring.

I have not yet flown a Pixhawk on a Helicopter, but I have on multirotors. A little bit. I had received a beta test board a few months ago, but it had a few issues so I didn't get much time on it. I actually just received my first full production Pixhawk on Friday.

I also have started using the PX4 system, which is almost the same thing as Pixhawk.

PX4 came first, and most of the hardware is the same. For Arducopter, you must use the FMU and the IO board stacked together. I like this setup, as it's much more compact, but some people find it harder to use. That is why the Pixhawk was created. It's basically the same electronics, but all on a single (larger) board, stuck in a pretty case with markings, etc.

More of a commercial product than a research product.

I have just finished building an MSH Protos 500 with the PX4, and done a few hours of bench testing on it, hopefully first test flights will occur this week. I don't expect any issues, since it's the exact same program running on it as the APM.

[raygamero]

I'm astounded by how often people don't believe it works in trad Helis.

Trex 550 (3 min 5 sec)