Wing variant

Summary¶

libdrone Wing is the fixed-wing survey companion to the libdrone family. Where all other family members are multirotors, Wing is a flying-wing or conventional fixed-wing airframe running ArduPilot Plane, carrying the standard GX12-7 dual payload interface, and optimised for large-area coverage at extended endurance — 45–75 minutes per sortie. The primary initial application is wildlife population survey at dawn and dusk using a thermal imaging payload, with the Czech hunting associations as the first operational customer. Wing is concept and pre-design stage as of v0.1; the electronics stack is specified but the airframe is not yet selected or built.

Concept¶

Why fixed-wing for survey¶

A multirotor holds position by continuously vectoring thrust against gravity — efficient for hover, inefficient for covering ground. A fixed-wing generates lift from forward motion; the energy cost of covering area drops dramatically compared to a multirotor on the same battery. A Wing covering 50 hectares in one 45-minute sortie would require eight to ten Pro battery cycles to replicate. For survey missions where area coverage matters more than hover capability, fixed-wing is the correct choice. See → fixed-wing-fundamentals for the efficiency physics.

The wildlife survey application¶

Czech hunting associations face regulatory pressure to demonstrate quantified wildlife population data. Manual ground counts are incomplete and cannot produce GPS-referenced evidence. Helicopter surveys cost thousands of euros per hour. Wing provides a third path: an autonomous grid survey at 40–60 m AGL, timed for the dawn or dusk thermal window when animal-to-ground thermal contrast is maximum, producing a GPS-tagged detection log and a printable report. The service model is not hardware sales — it is delivering that report to the association contact. The hardware enables the service.

Shared payload standard¶

Wing carries the GX12-7 dual payload interface — the same physical and electrical standard as Pro, Bandit, and Ghost. A thermal imaging payload designed for Wing plugs into Pro's backplane without modification, and vice versa. One payload library serves all platforms. This cross-platform compatibility is the primary reason for maintaining the GX12 standard across a family member that has otherwise different mechanical architecture. See → gx12-connector-standard.

Airframe status¶

Wing does not prescribe a single airframe. Three candidates are identified — Skywalker X8 (2122 mm span, recommended primary), Finwing Penguin (1400 mm, survey-dedicated), Mini Talon V2 (1300 mm, lower cost POC) — with selection driven by budget, regulatory AUW threshold, and thermal payload capacity. The electronics stack (H7A3-WING, ELRS, ESP32-S3, MAVLink) is fixed regardless of airframe selection.

Reference¶

Procedure¶

Rationale¶

Wing exists because the GX12 payload standard created a thermal imaging payload that needed more than one airframe to justify its development cost. A thermal payload designed for Pro's backplane is worth more if it can also fly on a fixed-wing platform covering ten times the area per sortie. The wildlife survey application was identified as the fastest path to a paying customer for the thermal payload — a specific, quantified need, a customer who cannot currently meet it, and a deliverable (the report) that the customer understands. Wing is the minimum platform to deliver that report.

Connections¶

requires: - platform-overview - fixed-wing-fundamentals related: - platform-selection - gx12-connector-standard - ardupilot-plane - thermal-imaging-payload - wildlife-survey-operations - esp32-s3-companion - iff-architecture leads_to: - ardupilot-plane - thermal-imaging-payload - wildlife-survey-operations