Pilot vs. Engineer: How Flying a UAV Changes the Way I Write Code

Source: Dev.to

As an Electrical‑Electronics Engineering student and a licensed UAV pilot, I’ve spent countless hours behind two different screens: the IDE where I write flight‑control logic, and the Ground Control Station (GCS) where I monitor that logic in the sky.

Early in my journey, I thought that if the simulation in Gazebo looked perfect, the flight would be perfect. I was wrong. Transitioning from the desk to the field taught me that “perfect code” can fail if it doesn’t account for the “chaos” of reality.

Inertia Is More Than a Variable

In a simulator, inertia is just a number in a physics engine. In the field, it’s the reason your VTOL drifts an extra meter during a transition because of a sudden gust of wind. Being a pilot taught me to write “anticipatory” code. Now, when I implement an LQR or PID controller like

[ u(t)=K_p,e(t)+K_i\int e(t),dt+K_d,\frac{d}{dt}e(t) ]

I don’t just see gain values ((K_p, K_i, K_d)); I visualize how the aircraft will physically struggle or snap into position.

The “What If” Mindset (Fail‑safes)

A programmer thinks about if‑else statements. A pilot thinks about “what if the link breaks right now?” This perspective shifted my focus toward robust fail‑safe mechanisms. If my NavGuard layer detects a GPS‑spoofing attempt, the code must decide in milliseconds: trust the IMU or initiate an emergency landing? Pilots don’t want “clever” code; they want “predictable” code.

// Simple PID controller example
double u(double e, double integral, double derivative,
         double Kp, double Ki, double Kd) {
    return Kp * e + Ki * integral + Kd * derivative;
}

Respecting the Environment

Electronic warfare (EW), signal interference, and sensor noise are invisible enemies. My interest in avionics grew from seeing these “invisible” factors disrupt my flight missions. Now I write code that doesn’t just process data—it questions it.

Conclusion

Being a pilot made me a better engineer because it gave me empathy for the operator. If you want to write better firmware, step away from the IDE and go to the flight field. Seeing your code fight the wind will teach you more than any textbook ever could.