Project Phantom

Dev Log #40
hardware testing started today with sensors borrowed from my tutor. soldered header pins on the modules. tested 4 sensors in total and 3 of them worked: scd41 co2, vl53l0x tof, and bme680 all gave clean readings. the icm-20948 imu failed with an i2c begin error, not sure if its an address issue or if i broke it while soldering. calling it for tonight cause its late, will run an i2c scanner tmmm to check if the icm is alive.

Dev Log #38
finallyy geting to the hardware partt had a few sensors without pins soo kinda soldered headers on them and also burnt my fingers….(first time lol)

Dev Log #38 more changes on the website and alsoo made a personal website for me

Dev log #37 more changes to the website…this is getting boring

Dev Log #36
had a extra get in touch button soo fixed it and alsoo a bit of checking on lighthouse if our website is actually good ngll

Dev log
#35 not much just editing bugs on the websitee

Dev Log #34
Made a applicant form for joining phantom tdyyy and also made a new page for terms hoping to see new members

Dev log #33
I promise this will be the final time i will be spending hours on the same website..i added more animations and interactive features added pervious members list and also our first flight vid have a look…until next time byeee

Dev log #32
spent 4 hours straight building out the AI side of the site and it was basically just me vs. a wall of bugs , the website kept glitching, logic broke everywhere, and then the deployment refused to cooperate for way too long. but after a lot of console staring and one very questionable fix, projectphantom.space is finally live. go take a look and if anything feels off, drop a suggestion below.

Dev Log #31
soo yeahhh spent a lot of time building the ai part of the websitee and yeah it kept glichting out a ton of times and then it wont deploy, most of the time was spent on trying to deploy the site…i hope it looks cool

Dev Log #30
Took some resttt, needed it fr. Real talk tho…. when I first made this Stardance account I was on vacation, like fully hardware-less, so everything you guys have seen so far has just been the soft side, website stuff, socials, online grind. That’s about to flip. I’m finally back and about to start unpacking the actual hardware, the stuff I genuinely missed sooo much 🔧 give it about a week and you’ll start seeing real hardware content again, not just screens and code. Also… picked something up 👀 not saying what yet but it’s my favorite microcontroller, more on that in the next dev log. And once the website’s fully wrapped up, it’s hardware timeee. For real this time. Yippee 🚀✈️

Dev log #29
dove back into the hardware side today…..researching Matek flight controllers, fine-tuning the UAV build, and experimenting with Depron wing construction techniques for maximum structural rigidity and low weight ✈️ Decided to postpone the deep history and lore to the one of the upcoming dev log

Dev Log #28:
Fixed the cursor styling, cleaned up the image placement, and finally aligned the navigation icon properly…..Officially requested indexing on Google Search Console andddd our site is officially queued up and ready to take over search results. I am finally back!!!!!! one of our upcoming dev log is going to be packed with full of lore and the deep history of this entire project from start to finish. Until then, I’m signing off……just landed after a 5-hour flight and I am hecka tired 😴✌️

Dev log #27
Finally got the official site submitted and verified! Claimed ownership on Search Console and got it officially queued up for Google indexing so our actual platform takes over search results. Also spent way too much time wrestling with the dynamic light/dark mode SVG favicon, the code is all set, but the scaling/viewBox is still slightly bugging out and cutting off the edges 💀but i need rest…..

Dev Log #26
finally got a domainnnnnn lets goooo updating evrything and connected just added tehh assets foldr and filled in the place holders finally got a faceee

Dev Log #25
fixed a bunch of website bugs today lol, the depth scroll text was showing a black screen bc the section height was wrong, also broke the whole nav animation with a null error, and the logo was way too smol so i made it bigger. small fixes but it looks way more professional now

Dev Log #24
Added the backed by section and then added the meet the team section just a a quick update

Dev Log#23:
Just adding some animations and rewriting a few stuff so its professional.

Dev log #22
did some changes to the website a lot more to go…will drop the link soon

Dev log #21
Got bored and started to overthink and realized I need a face for the project so why no make a website for project phantom and started to work on it for literally 20 mins and boom power cut here 😭👍 will continue as soon as it comes….

Dev Log #20
Just light work after doing and completing the schematics I wanted a bit of a break so I went ahead and decided to learn to cad….Did a bit of a search on that and download freecad time to learn that also….yeah, No break

Dev Log #19

schematic finally locked and pushed to github. wiring, pinouts, diagram all there. looks like an actual thing now not just spaghetti everywhere.

next is the real stuff. gotta code the teensy, build pid loops from scratch, and learn pcb design because breadboards are not it. need to turn this into something i can actually solder and fly.
also sent out funding requests. just waiting and hoping something hits so i can stop simulating and actually get this in the air. 14 minutes once before. need way more than that.

code next. then cad. then maybe the sky. we ll see.

Dev Log #18
Circuit schematic is DONE. Well… mostly. After hours of wrestling with KiCad, net labels, wire spaghetti, and questioning my entire existence, I finally have ICM-20948, BME680, SCD40, VL53L0X, NRF24L01, M10-5883, MQ135, PMS5003, R12F receiver, all four servos, UBEC, and the Teensy 4.1 all placed and wired. Is it neat? Meh. Is it functional? Absolutely. The ESC and motor are still missing because honestly I got confused about whether the PWM wire powers the motor or if the battery does or if magic is involved. I’ll figure it out later. For now, Project Phantom’s brain is mapped out and I’m counting this as a win. Could be better, but could also be a lot worse.

Dev Log #17
Just spent hours in KiCad and my schematic looks like a bowl of wire spaghetti. Wires crossing everywhere, labels floating around lost, and I just realized I’ve been drawing physical wires across the whole page when net labels exist. My brain is fried, my eyes hurt, and I’m pretty sure I connected GND to something that definitely isn’t ground. But you know what? I’m not starting over. I’m gonna fix this mess piece by piece……power symbols, clean labels, proper layout. Project Phantom didn’t come this far to quit on some green lines.

Dev Log #16
KiCad is absolutely HECTIC bro. Spent the last few hours trying to wire up the ICM-20948 and BME680, net labels everywhere, I2C bus sharing, pull-ups, pull-downs, 3.3V this, 5V that… my brain is fried. I legit got a headache staring at green wires that refuse to connect to pins properly. Learned a ton though net labels and they are my new best friend, G (drag) »> M (move), and I2C is just one wire pretending to be many. Gonna take a break, touch some grass, then I’m locking back in and finishing this schematic. Project Phantom waits for no one… but my sanity does….

Dev Log #15
Telemetry board schematic is live. IMU, GNSS, air quality sensors, NRF24, RC receiver, all socketed and labeled. Looks like a proper flight computer on paper. In reality? Currently praying my I2C bus doesn’t explode from address conflicts and that I remembered which pin is 3.3V vs 5V before something starts smoking. Voltage divider for the MQ135 pending because apparently “close enough” isn’t how electronics work. Wiring starts tomorrow… or maybe I just rotate more labels and call it progress.

Dev log #14
Research on BME680 and how it works and also MQ-135. Needed to know the basics before we take a big leap

Dev Log #13
Locked in the full pinout and header architecture for the Teensy 4.1 in KiCad today ,both 24-pin side headers are officially set up and ready to go. Decided against running a separate co-processor setup for now to keep the hardware stack streamlined and fast, letting the Teensy handle the whole flight and telemetry system directly. Shifted straight into the sensor array starting with the MPU6050 IMU. Instead of messing around with raw IC footprint files and internal silicon pins, mapped it cleanly using an 8-pin connector layout with proper I2C and interrupt net labels. Next step: wrapping up the rest of the sensor payload connections!

Dev Log #12
Focused on manually mapping out the Teensy 4.1 schematic headers and pinouts in KiCad today. It turned out to be way more time-consuming than expected ,especially sorting out the physical layout versus the pin numbering jumps. I definitely could have just downloaded a pre-made symbol from GitHub or online repositories, but doing it from scratch was worth the hassle to actually get hands-on and learn KiCad properly. Headers are locked in, wrapping up for today!

Dev Log #11
Digital infrastructure is officially sorted. Secured our X, YouTube, LinkedIn, and GitHub, and got the web landing page completely lined up. On paper, our brand ecosystem is fully live.
In reality? Currently staring at a blank feed waiting for the algorithms to pick us up like it’s a high-stakes exam result. Engagement’s sitting at a solid zero…hope for the best

Dev Log #10:
Still caught in the research spiral over whether to snag an Ender 3 V3 or a Bambu Lab A1. The Ender’s cheaper and tempting, but the A1’s auto flow calibration would save us so much pain when printing delicate LW-PLA wing profiles. Not that it matters right now—the debate is basically on pause while we sit around waiting for the wallet to stop reading $0.

Dev Log #9:
Hardware selection is officially locked in. After hunting down an absolute steal on an M10 GPS + compass module, settling on the Teensy 4.1, and getting the full FPV gear lined up, the core tech stack for this telemetry build is completely sorted on paper. In reality? I am currently staring at a checkout screen waiting on funding approval like it’s a high-stakes exam result. Wallet’s sitting at a solid zero balance right now……

Dev Log #8:
While waiting for my components to ship, I spent today working out a cleaner way to handle the propulsion physics for horizontal cruise flight. By planning for a variable-pitch mechanism, the flight software can actively feather the unpowered blades to zero degrees so they align perfectly with the oncoming air currents. This cuts out the usual aerodynamic drag penalties completely, letting the platform cruise efficiently on a single motor like a standard plane while keeping the dual setup ready for vertical lift. Now, I’m jumping right back into KiCad to map out the extra control lines on the board!

Dev Log #7:
With the master schematic layout finally taking shape, I took a massive step back to clean up and finalize our official BOM.md list for the GitHub repository. I stripped out all the fluctuating market price rates to keep the sheet clean and added a dedicated procurement summary tracking our immediate core prototyping items (the Pi 5, primary navigation modules, custom PCB fabrication, and the analog FPV kit).
Now, we play the ultimate waiting game for procurement clearance before we can actually order the physical hardware components. Since we’re in limbo waiting on the parts, I’m currently working on the custom KiCad board layout design again after taking a much-needed short break lol. Time to shake off the confusion, map out the actual trace routing, and get these dual-row tracks perfect!

Devlog #6:
This is my official first time using KiCad, and honestly, it’s a blast ,yet wildly confusing all at once. The fun part is definitely designing Project Phantom’s brain from scratch, mapping out how the Teensy 4.1 will route high-speed data to the ESP32 and command the long-range nRF24L01+ PA/LNA data link.
The confusing part? KiCad’s quirks!
Getting hit with random template errors, figuring out shortcuts, and learning how to mirror generic socket headers (Conn_01x24) with the X key just to keep connection points facing outwards has been a massive learning curve. But the parallel dual-row tracks for the Teensy are officially down, and the master schematic layout is finally coming to life!

Dev Log #5:
The Backstory & How We Got HereIf
you look at the timer on this project, it says 3 hours. Let’s be real ,I’ve been living and breathing this build way before I started tracking it on Stardance. The hardware sitting on my bench right now represents months of legacy testing, crashed foam, and troubleshooting.
We started out testing baseline concepts on an Apprentice S15e trainer and an AtomRC Dolphin frame, proving out basic telemetry strings, tuning stock flight controllers, and making sure our environmental sensor array (BME680 and PMS5003) actually tracked data mid-air.
Now, we are completely outgrowing the kit phase. The goal from here on out is 100% engineering sovereignty. We are moving away from pre-bought foam and stock autopilot systems to build a completely custom, scratch-printed LW-PLA airframe with carbon fiber structural spars. On the software side, I’m writing the custom flight firmware from absolute zero and tuning my own PID stabilization loops on a Teensy 4.1.
We just finished mapping out the full market-rate upgraded BOM, integrated our flight validation video from LinkedIn into the main README, and locked down the co-processing vision stack specs (Raspberry Pi 5 + depth camera + global shutter industrial camera).
The foundation is built. Time to torture myself with a million compiler errors and endless troubleshooting to make this scratch build fly.
Let’s get to work.

Just spent the last hour fixing up the docs and locking in the Stardance dashboard. The LinkedIn flight video is finally embedded right in the README so people can see the validation plane actually flying in the air with one click. I also made a clean BOM file from scratch to separate the gear on my bench from the upgrades I need to buy. I did some actual price digging on Alibaba and AliExpress to make the budget realistic, factoring in the true market cost of the Raspberry Pi 5, about 500 AED for the FPV kit, and adding a depth camera plus a global shutter industrial camera for the vision stack. The whole point here is complete engineering sovereignty. People think it is just a pre-bought foam kit, but I am doing it all from absolute zero with custom flight software, my own tuned PID loops, and a 100% scratch-printed LW-PLA airframe. Time to torture myself with a million compiler errors and endless troubleshooting, but honestly it is going to be incredibly fun.

Product Research again…

Finding out ways to patent the custom aircraft design soo it belong to me lol ntg much

just mapping out the master BOM and looking up part specs. Sourcing everything for the flight controller stack and the environmental sensors so I know exactly what components I need to order next…..my wallets gone