FWIW - various guidance projects.
In my listing of past guidance projects, one I left out was David Hein ’s Quad Pod II in 2008. A micro controller, MEMS-type gyro I think, custom programming, and gimbaled engine. An F10 powered model which was intended to use the thrust spike to get it off the ground and go up, then with the rocket weighing a BIT more than the sustainer thrust, to make a powered descent down sort of like a Lunar Module. If the flight below had been in calmer weather, it probably would have “stuck the landing”.
Go to 2:00 in the video: It's a very short "hop", apparently over-ballasted, too heavy. But the next scene, IT WORKS!
[video=youtube;wUJx7LbRZn0?t]https://youtu.be/wUJx7LbRZn0?t=158[/video]
One of the most advanced guided rocket project’s was Jim Jarvis’ 2015 three-stage rocket designed to fly well above 100,000 feet. He used a very unique arrangement by putting the finned guidance system between the 1st and 2nd stages, so that the guidance system would only be used to assure the rocket was vertical or near vertical shortly before the 2nd stage ignited. It was custom programmed in several ways, using a modified Multicopter type controller.
[video=youtube;i7OqOj7GHuc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7OqOj7GHuc[/video]
He first began with a Guardian (at the time of the above video), then changed to the custom programmed flight controller programmed by the controller maker himself (!). A long and VERY impressive thread, here, probably the top TRF technical thread of 2015:
https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?122042
One of the unique customizations was for the unit not to provide any corrections early in the boost, to do the steering corrections mainly between first stage burnout (and first stage separation), as it coasted for several seconds, then the guidance module was dropped and the second stage ignited. Below is an earlier test flight. The actual all-out flight that he did, for some reason the first stage did not separate from the guidance module, so the guidance module was unable to help guide it towards vertical, but even so the rocket flew straight enough to fly over 130,000 feet.
[video=youtube;umoduWiQb-o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umoduWiQb-o[/video]
This project below, from this year uses a gimbaled engine and is trying to do a SpaceX Falcon type landing under thrust (same kind of flight profile as Dave Hein's Quad Pod). Still having trouble with that part. But the guidance sometimes works well enough to steer it vertical, till it starts falling downwards. Using an Arduino and gyro/accelerometer type sensors, I think. More info here:
https://twitter.com/joebarnard
[video=youtube;XDJpuwW1-4k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDJpuwW1-4k[/video]
Here is a project using a very interesting tether method to test out the gimbaled engine and guidance programming without risking it flying off to the side if it did not work. It REALLY works well in the 2nd test at about 1:28. Using a MPU6050 with DMP gyro chip, didn’t state the micro controller.
[video=youtube;xO0D0KEGc2E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO0D0KEGc2E[/video]
Here’s an Arduino guidance system on a rocket using steerable nose fins.
[video=youtube;pTDpV6fkEA8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTDpV6fkEA8[/video]
Here is a link to another Arduino guidance system project. However the designer over-built this so heavily that then he jumped to using a much bigger rocket, which would fly much faster, and is afraid to fly the prototype guidance system as he does not think the servos or nose fins are strong enough for the higher power. Sigh, these things can be developed and tested fantastically with F!0 or G12 (even E6), not HPR unless it’s needlessly over-built like this one was. Anyway, while not flown I include it since it has a lot of documentation about the guidance.
https://workshopscience.com/arduino-rocket-stabilization/
Below, Alyssa Stenberg’s 2013 R&D project using the Eagle Tree Guardian to steer vertically. The Guardian itself works off-the-shelf since it is made as an autopilot for R/C planes, does not need programming or custom wiring unless NOT done with an R/C receiver and R/C Tx.
Wiring is simply: Battery->Receiver->Guardian->Servos
This is with a finned rocket launched at an angle, after first being held vertical for power-up initialization (a few seconds learning where vertical/horizontal is). D12-0 to E9, took awhile to get moving fast enough for the nose fins to be effective enough, after staging. But you know what would have happened if it was ballistic from that angle:
[video=youtube;kTND_wot9zI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTND_wot9zI[/video]
Note the NAR flag…… that was a demo at NARAM.
And here is the same project done with a gimbaled engine in a 4” rocket , its first flight with fin unit removed, using a G12 reload (it worked fine, ejection & chute deploy by R/C. Was nearly dark and the cellphone image went to black).
[video=youtube;jFfp2fHkw20]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFfp2fHkw20[/video]
And, finally, here is Alyssa’s R&D presentation at NARAM, including several minutes of video of some of the test flights. Her project won in A Division that year.
[video=youtube;A4M9Uso9EsY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4M9Uso9EsY[/video]