Is there any way for the Arduino to connect to the airplane? (ie. the servos, motor etc.)
a - To power Arduino:
... How? 11.1V battery? Which one of the many wires?
b - To power the ESC:
11.1V battery?
c - To power servos:
receiver channels 1, 2 (Ailerons, elevator) ---> Arduino In 0, 1 ?
3 Arduino PWM pins ---> 3 servo command wires (ailerons, elevator) ?
Arduino 5V, GND ---> 3 servo +, - wires (ailerons, elevator) ?
d - To power the motor:
receiver channel 3 (motor), all 3 pins ---> ESC ?
ESC ---> motor ?
Now to control it:
Should I buy a 5/6DOF sensor?
To connect that: Attach pins to 4 remaining Analog In pins A2 - A5 (Acc up/down, left/right, forward/back, Gyro pitch, roll)?
How do I do all of the 5/6 DOF code (as an upgrade of the Kalman)
So how should I do all of this? Is what I'm doing correct??
1a) Use the BEC (at 5V) on the ESC. This goes to 5V and GND on the Arduino.
1c) Correct on the first two. On the last one, powering the servos, do not try to draw power for the servos through the Arduino. You need to split off power for the servos from the BEC on the ESC.
It would be preferable to buy an I2C sensor instead of an analog one (most are I2C now). As to "why" just think of it as the difference between digital and analog and how digital is always better ;). You can spot an I2C sensor as it will have SCL and SDA pins on it. Read some tutorials on I2C for more information.
sbright: I know firmware exists for planes for the KK boards (yosler: google "KK Multicopter") as I've seen a few that have the firmware built in. As to whether or not you can download that firmware is another question...
Sbright33: As of the KK... googled it, really cool. I also have the same question: Does it also work for airplanes? Do you just plug the 3 servos (2 aileron, 1 elevator), motor(ESC), and a power source into the KK?
Also, how much $ would it be?
It is not a built-in BEC
What do you mean by using an "I2C sensor"? What is it? How would I use it?
It will work to some degree. My v2.1 will also work, and 2.0 is even more configurable, has accelerometers (I hate typing that word) to keep it level. Basically it goes between the receiver and servos/ESC. My price is the same as Ebay $59 inc S&H to USA. I2C is the communication protocol to a sensor. If you hook sensors to an Arduino you still have to write the code. Which is what I'm doing...
I've seen nearly the same thing for $40 on Ebay free shipping, I have one. I will be writing code that is related, but I don't think I will need this for an airplane. The gyro board will keep it stable if there's a gust of wind. I can use GPS to keep it from drifting by rolling. The speed determines the climbing angle.
Why so cheap? It's 3x that on Sparkfun. The only disadvantage I can see compared to more expensive single chip designs, is that it does not do fusion IN the chip. Instead you must do it yourself in the Arduino. The 9150 is coming soon. Cost?