Tested

Sensors

Notes

The SkyBuoy-I was flight tested in King City to evaluate autonomous waypoint navigation and system reliability. After arming, the aircraft ascended to the target altitude, stabilized on GPS and compass, and executed a sequence of pre-programmed waypoints. Each waypoint was reached with consistent accuracy, including controlled altitude changes and safe descent. Manual RC takeover was tested during the mission and control transferred cleanly to the operator and back to autonomous mode without error. A simulated signal loss event confirmed return-to-home functionality, with SkyBuoy-I returning to launch and completing an automatic landing and disarm. Autonomy scripts were run under nohup to ensure process persistence after SSH disconnect, which functioned as intended. During setup, several arming attempts showed that one or more ESCs failed to initialize; this was mitigated by adjusting minimum power values until consistent spool-up across all motors was achieved. The test confirmed safe autonomous flight, RC override, and recovery functions, with further work identified in refining ESC parameters and mission efficiency.