What was accomplished

●       The entire validated avionics stack — flight controller, GPS, power system, telemetry, RC receiver, companion computer, camera, and gimbal — was transferred from last year's testbed drone into the new competition airframe.

●       All wiring was routed and secured through the new frame's designed cable paths, and every connection was re-verified against the original bench-tested configuration.

●       A full power-on and pre-flight systems check was completed on the new airframe, confirming all avionics operate identically to their performance on the testbed drone.

Challenges and solutions

The main challenge was adapting the wiring harness lengths and connector positions to match the new frame's different internal geometry compared to last year's drone. The team solved this by re-measuring and re-terminating several wire runs to fit the new chassis cleanly, without shortcuts that could risk loose connections in flight.

Media

Next steps plan

Conduct the first test flights of the fully completed competition drone.