In order to record your flights you will need to purchase and setup a flight logger. The parts required are now widely available and affordable thanks to the drone industry. The easiest approach is to buy the whole lot as a package, but you can save some money if you are willing to do a little bit of work yourself. There is a number of vendors selling the kits, listed at the bottom of this page.

These are the key components you will need to build your own module:

– Flight controller – This contains a small computer, inertial sensors and gyros and an SD card reader. Most flight controllers can take a range of different firmwares, which can be a bit confusing if you are looking to purchase one for the first time. The flight coach system works with logs generated by the Ardupilot firmware, so any Ardupilot compatible flight controller can be used. Have a look here for a list of those: https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-autopilots.html. Look out for one with a built-in micro/SD card slot.

– GPS & magnetometer – This gets the global position and the direction towards North and sends it to the flight controller.

– Power supply – You can power everything from your receiver pack, but for peace of mind we prefer to keep it all separate from the radio gear. I find a 400mAH 2s lipo is good for a few days worth of flying. Some flight controllers will also need a separate power module to regulate the voltage.

– Memory Card – Most flight controllers take a micro SD card, you’ll need to plug this into your computer to view the logs so get a USB adapter for your card too.

– Telemetry System – This is so you can set your flight controller up wirelessly from your computer. You can do most of the setup with a USB lead, but it is quite difficult to calibrate the compass with a USB lead connected between your plane and the computer. For peace of mind I always remove the telemetry system before flight.

– A Computer with Mission Planner – Mission Planner is the program you’ll use to install the firmware on the flight controller and set the flight controller up for logging.