Paparazzi vs X

This page aims to provide honest comparisons between paparazzi and other open source autopilot systems. These comparisons can then be used for improving paparazzi, where there is something a competitor does which is 'better'.

Paparazzi (fixed-wing) vs ArduPlane

First contact

The arduplane web presence is somewhat disjointed. The 'official' home page (and first google result) is hosted on a subdomain of DIYDrones, but is basically a sales pitch.

The call to action redirects to a google code wiki, which is the real home of arduplane. The sidebar of the wiki contains the following:

ArduPlane Instruction
This is ArduPlane wiki, which includes all assembly and use instructions. Use the sidebar menu below to navigate.

Note: If you're looking for the ArduCopter manual, you can find it here.

Introduction
Get it!
Project news
Project history
Instructions:
Quick Start Guide
Setup
Flying
Simulation
Optional additions
Troubleshooting
Appendix
The DIY Drones Dev Team
Glossary

The documentation seems to be much more centrally administered than paparazzi. The level of the documentation is definitely aimed at the beginner. The 'quickstart' guide presents two photos of the two main pieces of arduplane hardware (APM & APM2). The guide links to the following steps (each is a wiki page).

Install the Mission Planner software and APM firmware
Connect your RC equipment
Set up your configuration
Check it out in the air
Plan a mission

Ground Station

The ArduPlane 'Mission Planner' is an open source Microsoft .NET application. It handles flight monitoring, firmware loading & configuration, log file replays and video display. It is approximately a 15MB download, and also runs happily under mono on linux (other than video playback). 32 and 64 bit installers are provided, along with a zip with the executables. Source code is provided via google code SVN. The 'Flight Data' tab shows current aircraft location on google maps on the right, along with a PFD and altitude, speed and battery data on a HUD on the left.