Week 7 Flight Dynamics Log

Week 7 should leave you with a cleaner language for motion.

Your log is a physics explanation, not a general reflection.

One maneuver, four layers

Choose one supplied maneuver or hover condition and document it in four rows:

Do not use “moves forward because it pitches forward” as the full explanation. Include the tilted thrust vector and resulting net force.

Force sketch

Draw the aircraft and the major vectors for your selected condition.

Show:

• weight;
• thrust;
• one disturbance or drag vector if relevant;
• the direction of net force;
• the expected acceleration direction.

If the net force is approximately zero, say so and explain what that means for acceleration—not necessarily velocity.

Drift diagnosis snapshot

Use your Hover Drift Diagnosis and record:

• the first observed symptom;
• the strongest two hypotheses;
• the last known-good or expected state;
• the single simulated test that best separates the hypotheses.

Correct one sentence

Rewrite one of these weak statements so it becomes technically defensible:

• “Yaw makes the drone move sideways.”
• “If forces balance, the drone must be stopped.”
• “The motors caused the drift because their outputs were different.”
• “The drone tilted, so it was unstable.”

Your correction should identify the missing frame, force, timing, or control context.

Bridge to feedback control

Finish this sentence:

Physics tells us how forces change motion; a feedback controller adds...

Your answer should mention measured state, target state, and correction over time.

Exit standard

A strong Week 7 log keeps rotations, forces, motion, and coordinate frames separate—and then reconnects them into one causal explanation.