This retrospective was compiled in July 2026 from project files, software milestones, design iterations, and engineering notes. It should not be interpreted as proof that each entry was publicly published during the month shown.
January 2026 · Scope and workstreams
The reconstructed project narrative begins with a mission concept and the separation of software, ground-station, and air-vehicle workstreams. Early fixed-wing configurations were explored as concepts rather than selected designs.
Documentation reconstructed from July 2026 notes; no contemporaneous public January release record is claimed.
February 2026 · Telemetry interface concepts
Early dashboard architecture, MAVLink experiments, and data-display ideas form the second reconstructed period. The present repository confirms the resulting telemetry model, but not a public February publication date.
March 2026 · Discovery, mock data, and replay
Endpoint discovery, mock telemetry, replay, diagnostics, and visible connection-state work are grouped here as a reconstructed development phase. These capabilities are present in the current software record.
April 2026 · Simulation safety boundary
The command architecture evolved around local SITL only: approved ports, localhost resolution, a current heartbeat, fixed-wing and ArduPilot validation, and explicit Simulation Control Mode. Replay remained command-disabled.
May 2026 · Interface refinement
Navigation, telemetry, mission, simulation, settings, visual quality, and screen-resolution checks were separated and refined. Current project files document supported desktop sizes and bounded rendering behavior; the month assignment remains retrospective.
June 2026 · SITL mission and documentation
The development history records successful local SITL telemetry and an operator-observed waypoint mission, followed by stability improvements and technical documentation. Fixed-wing airframe concepts continued as studies, not completed hardware.
The SITL mission is simulation evidence. No physical aircraft flight is implied.
July 2026 · Public website and journal
The public website repository began on 19 July, mobile responsiveness was committed on 20 July, and this engineering journal was compiled on 22 July. July also records the expanded ground-station antenna concept, the embedded-compute versus telemetry-centric trade study, the coastal communications-resilience strategy, and the engineering-transparency policy.
How to interpret the record
The monthly headings are organizational aids, not fabricated archive dates. Where the project lacks a timestamped contemporaneous record, the text states that the documentation was reconstructed. Future entries should be published with explicit creation and revision dates so later retrospectives can rely on primary evidence rather than memory.
Challenge the assumptions.
If a claim is unsupported, incomplete, misleading, or technically incorrect, identify it. Agreement is not required. Well-supported criticism is valuable.