Week 5 Bramor Field Outing (September 24th)

In week 5 of our Bramor field related activities, the AT209 class met at the north end of the Martell Forestry Center. The lab was essentially an introduction into the complete basic functions of the Bramor as well as the setup and takedown of the aircraft. Flight crews, even if not participating in the flight were expected to take notes and keenly observe the practices and procedures during the lab. 

Each crew participating in the flight for lab was expected to have one member within the group fold a parachute previous to the flight. Though it puts pressure on the flight crew to have a successful parachute launch, it is a good test and a boost of confidence when the deployment is successful. Also, weather just as with manned aviation, should be accounted for when planning a flight, as well as a preflight plan and course of flight. In a way, the flight begins far before the assembly and takeoff of the Bramor. 

When the assembly truly begins, one flight crew member reads aloud the checklist to the another, who affirms commands and completion with a distinct and consistent verbal response, such as "check". While those two assemble, a third team member preprograms the flight route on the Bramor tablet. For the sake of efficiency and safety, the tablet operator works independently, and when the checklist reader gets to the tablet section, he/she affirms checklist commands verbally.

Figure 1: Example of Bramor Tablet

Following the checklist is of utmost importance because it is the guide to a safe and successful flight. The Bramor has no room for any error made prior to flight. The steps in which the checklist is laid out ensures that each step is held with the same level of importance and that it is practical and efficient. If one step is missed or done in conflict with the provided steps, there could be a serious incident or accident that occurs.

Field Outing:

The flight lab took place at coordinates (40.4161806, -86.9288493) at the north end of the Martel Forestry Center. The geographic properties of the location is a prairie-like field roughly 100-150 yards by 250-300 yards with woods to the east and in the northwest quadrant of the field.

Figure 2: North end of Martell flight area

The grass doesn't exceed 4 feet at the highest and the trees are roughly 100 feet at the highest. There are also powerlines on the north of property and a logging road on the west of the property from north to south. Also there is a road (Highway 26) running along the north of the property from east to west. Further north of that highway there is a residential property. These characteristics of the flight area involve a number of hazards. The trees and powerlines could cause either a collision or a light of sight hazard. The road, logging trail, and residential housing entail both a safety and legal hazard as flying over people not involved in the mission is dangerous and illegal. 

Weather was good for flying. The wind was light enough as to where the Bramor did not have to be set up to takeoff into the wind.

Temperature	Wind Direction	Wind Speed	Sky Conditions	Precipitation
25.5 deg C	SW	10 kts	Sunny, clear	none

Figure 3: Weather conditions

The flight went smoothly, the Bramor took off without any issues going south and heading towards takeoff loiter where it climbed 118 meters. The mission altitude was 120 meters. It made its passes flying from waypoint to waypoint and eventually went into rally loiter which was around 56 meters. Parachute was deployed and it landed safely in the southern area of the prairie. A truck parked on the outskirts of the field caused an in-flight adjustment of the landing area to avoid any possible risk of collision with the vehicle. During the post flight pack up, a winglet was damaged and required epoxy to fix.

All in all the first flight was a success due to the correct parachute folding, good mission planning, and no deviation from the checklist. The Bramor takeoff, flight, and landing proved that it is more than capable at collecting data. I look forward to using this tool in the future.

Assessement

I wish that more people were able to fly this lab. However, I am aware that due to it being our first flight lab with the Bramor you cannot expect too much. It was still good to learn by observation.