First attempt to Data log using an Arduino

I started my journey down the Aerobatic Data Logging adventure by following a web article publish in 2010 by Joe Havelick.  (see http://architeched.net/post/2010/11/13/Aerobatic-Flight-Data-Recorder.aspx )

He created a simple GPS logging device using an Arduino and a GPS module.

I built a similar device using currently available components and found that there was a lot to learn.

My first project used the following components:

• Arduino Uno
• Venus GPS module  ( from Sparkfun. https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11058 )

My initial results were a little disappointing in that I believe that the Arduino was too slow.  It runs at 16mhz.  I found that at the default settings of 1 HZ and 9600 Baud, the Arduino Uno could just barely keep up.   As I added code and logic, I found that the GPS could overrun the Arduino's buffers and crash the system. 

I wanted to program the GPS to report it's position more frequently than the 1 HZ (Once per second). 
I also struggled with the Arduino UNO, which only has one UART and uses SoftwareSerial for its secondary Serial connections did not allow me to talk to the device and program it.

I found that I needed to purchase an improved device called a Teensy, which has additional UART serial ports. 

This worked like a charm and I was able to load a simple shield to echo between the 2 serial ports (the console and the GPS module) and use the program GPS Viewer to graphically view the data and to program the device.

At the time, the currently available Teensy was version 3.1, which runs at 36mhz.

Diagram and Code to follow...

Welcome to Aerobatic Data Logger blog

Welcome to my new blog to record and preset my adventure towards developing a flight data recorder for the purpose of recording and analyzing an Aerobatic flight.

Background:
First of all, for those not familiar with the sport of Competition Aerobatics, I have been a member of IAC and a participant in the sport since 1983.

You can find much more information on the sport at the IAC.ORG web site.

One of the challenges in our sport is to be able to practice the aerobatic sequences and to get meaningful feedback regarding the precision of the flying and to improve the quality of the flying to impress the judges.

There are basically 4 ways to get feedback from practice flying:

1. Have a friend, who is a knowledgeable judge, to critique your flying and prove feedback.
   In some cases, this is awesome if the person doing the critiquing is an experienced coach.
   There are even a number of professional coaches that travel the country hosting what are called Camps.
2. Mount cameras (such as Gopro, or 360Fly) around the plane and video the flight.
   These are interesting to watch, and do provide some feedback, but they do not give the whole picture. 
3. Have someone video your flying from the ground.
   Essentially this is the same as having a friend judge your flight, but with you being able to see it as well.   
   This is always a challenge because the planes are so high and pretty far away.
   Typically the video is either zoomed too far away to be able to see the plane, or is zoomed too close and looses the perspective of the overall flight.  The recording is also usually shaky and hard to watch due to poor tracking of the planes path.
   This is an ongoing work in progress and many people have suggested various solutions.
4. The final option is to record the flight using some sort of data recorder, such as a GPS, or video camera that contain GPS, Acceleration, and Altitude information.

This blog will explore what I have learned and the options that I have tested to this end.
If you have any questions of comments, please feel free to contact me.