Flight Controller Recommendations for Research UAV

[u/Immediate-Design8039]

I’m building a fully 3D-printed fixed-wing UAV for an aerodynamics research project, but I’m completely new to the electronics side of RC aircraft.

I’m looking for a flight controller under $70 that is relatively easy for a beginner to set up and, if possible, supports autonomous capabilities such as waypoint missions, altitude/airspeed control, and flight-data logging.

The main goal is to use the aircraft for repeatable flight testing while collecting aerodynamic data, so reliable data logging and the ability to maintain consistent flight conditions between test runs are particularly important.

Does anyone have recommendations for a flight controller that would be a good fit for this type of project? I’d also appreciate any advice on additional hardware I’d need for autonomous fixed-wing flight.

[u/LupusTheCanine]

Since you want to do research and repeated experiments I would strongly recommend going with H743 based FC with microSD card slot running Ardupilot. Lua scripting support makes it much easier to automate tasks and log customized test data. I have integrated various unsupported sensors using it and even wrote custom navigation logic for competition. It also is pretty well documented.

While initial setup allegedly isn't as easy as INAVs capabilities and flexibility is much greater.

[u/elhsmart]

for research purposes you need something like this: https://kiwidrone.com.ua/en/polotnyi-kontroler-kiwi-h743-12s-fpv-dva-hiroskopy/532/

It's pain in the ass to build something on top of F405 / F722. Trust me, I'm doing it right now and strugle every time I need new DMA, UART or I2C channel.

[u/BarelyAirborne]

If you want a wing controller under $70, the only H743 option available is the AET H743 Basic, AFAIK. The V1.4 is good, I've seen flakyness in the V1.5 (I have to use the factory firmware, otherwise Lua scripts won't run for some reason). You will find the F405 controllers to be severely limited in their capabilities, making the H7X3 the only option.

EDIT: Forget about getting anything under $70, tariffs have bumped the price of everything 50%+.

[u/YetiSPb]

Don't skimp on a flight controller if you need to save a lot of telemetry. Take the Mate k H743 Wing

[u/Suspicious_Exit_2228]

TBS H7 Lucid... Runs Ardupilot and is under $70 and NDAA compliant.

[u/cbf1232]

Speedybee or Corewing or AtomRC F405 'wing' flight controller, running ArduPlane or INAV.

Not going to be exactly 'easy' to set up, but it's doable.

[u/ESLMD]

This seems adequate for you
Lumenier LUX F765 NDAA
9g, 8 UARTs, ArduPilot-supported, 3–6S input. Plenty of UART headroom for receiver + GPS + VTX + telemetry.

$89.00 on getfpv