Pteryx UAV is a Polish Miniature UAV designed for civilian use, manufactured and sold by TriggerComposites. The machine can be classified both as a flying RC model and pre-programmed vehicle. It has received a medal for innovative design in the category of micro-enterprises of the Podkarpacie region: Innowator Podkarpacia 2010. Origin It uses a custom derivation of FLEXIPILOT, designed by Aerial Robotics engineering group for photomapping purposes and civilian use in general. The avionics and flying platform are designed with the idea of having full operational capability without using either an active transmitter or a ground station. Capabilities Delivering data for generating digital elevation model using external photogrammetric software and orthorectification procedure (Example: Bezmiechowa 3D model) Delivering data for precision agriculture obtaining surface maps using mosaicking software Construction site and long-range linear mapping (up to around 40 km both ways with 2h flight time, reserve included) (Example: Motorway construction site mapping mission) often requiring georeferencing of the data obtained Carrying custom research equipment The camera mount contains either pre-installed compact digital camera, or is left for the user for integration. The camera can be mounted down-looking (nadir photography) or side-looking (oblique photography). The whole head can be also tilted in flight using RC transmitter, while reducing stabilization travel to one of the sides. Features Its features among miniature (sub-5 kg TOW) civilian UAVs include roll-stabilized camera head, fully integrated parachute and Rotary Mission Selector. Key design requirements included: flying multiple missions per day without reprogramming the autopilot (the waypoints being selected by mission selector and evaluated relative to takeoff) ability to rearrange camera head interior with minimal effort single button operation no need for ground station enclosing the camera for better protection against dirt ability to accommodate most powerful compact digital camera models, weight range 200...1000g Takeoff: using bungee, or bungee with rails. Fully automatic takeoff triggered by holding Start button and automatic preflight testing. Landing: using parachute deployed automatically (possible forced opening using RC transmitter), aircraft style belly landing in automatic mode (only when reusing a single airfield, about 250x100m area required without obstacles on approach) or in manual mode (same as flying RC models). Precision (manufacturer's data) The aircraft provides positions of the photos taken; more than 8000 events can be recorded. Ground-projected positions include the following errors: GPS position error up to 5m, usually around 2.5m, this is typical for GPS mounted on flying vehicles. Altitude drift