Newbie to FPV/RPV

[igiveup]

I've been flying for a couple years now both outdoor and indoor. I've read quite a bit of threads and watched VRFLYER'S video's and want to get on this new wave asap. My question is, before spending $$$, should I get a low tech set-up or move up to the more expensive equipment since I've got time in the air? What kind of plane would be good to start out with? I like the Easystar since there is no prop in front of the camera. My goal is to be able to fly under the hood from roll out to landing. Also, my techno knowledge with terminology and jargon is limited. Any good sites explaining the equipment needed and how to use would be extremely helpful. Thanks. :)

[typicalaimster]

If you can afford the good equipment get it. If you've lurked around you've seen some impressive flights with 1watt of TX power. I know quite a few of us are sticking around in our immediate area with 600mw of TX power.

Remember this is like learning how to fly all over again. Think back to your trainer days. I'd suggest something rugged that can take a few bumps on the nose. I personally have not flown the Easystar but I've seen a few. You want something that's going to be forgiving. As a suggestion you may want to pick up a FMA CoPilot. It will help you get out of a bad situation! I use one every time I fly my FPV plane. I have it on a toggle switch so I can turn it on and off as needed.

Start out by learning the plane externally. You should be able to fly the plane with your eyes closed. Record your external flights and study your videos. I can not stress this enough. Then move up to flying a run around your local flying field. Don't be afraid to ask your fellow pilot for help! It's better to be humble and pass the buck to him than lose $500 in equipment. After you get comfortable shoot some landings and work your way down. Things will take time.

I started flying my own designed FPV plane in Feb.. By the end of the season I was flying full out takeoff to landing.

[PeteSchug]

Adding my personal two cents as a relative beginner at flying RC with video.

I've been flying video for a couple of years, but when I put on goggles for the first time (a little over a year ago) my biggest surprise was that what I thought was a U turn was actually about two full turns!

The angular rate of turn of these little planes is much faster than in full size planes so you have to know your landmarks and maintain just a slight bank while you figure out where you are.

It helps to do a video of your home field flying a pattern and watch that video until you know what the place looks like while flying around.

Do not do your first flight anyplace where the plane can get out of sight behind something. I got out of sight in about two seconds on my first flight with the goggles. This was a place I had flown often, so when my safety pilot began yelling at me I knew which way to turn to get back into the open, but you want to avoid the possibility of going down totally out of sight even though the plane may be less than a hundred yards away.

If you have to take the goggles off in a hurry you will probably not know which way to look unless you are in a very familiar area and have thought about where you are while flying.

Pete

[igiveup]

Thanks guys for the great info. I definitely will use a buddy-box and fly with someone who can take over if I become disoriented. Did you hand launch or fly off the ground the first few times? It would seem to me that keeping the horizon in front of you and knowing your landmarks at all times is the key to staying out of trouble.

Tell me about your personal set-ups and did you buy a package or go to several sources for your equipment? Any pics would be great. I've looked at the Black Widow site but it looks like they only go up to 200mw and it sounds like everyone is using 600mw. When do you cross the line for transmitting power before you need special licensing such as HAM operators?

The camera seems to be the most important piece of the set-up. What about wide angle lenses? Would this increase your ability to see more of what's in front of you? The goggles would seem to be the next most important part to fly successfully. Would you recommend the ones with the gyro's?

Last question is, what should I expect to spend for all the equipment needed?


Thanks again for all your help.

Drew

[PeteSchug]

Thanks guys for the great info. I definitely will use a buddy-box and fly with someone who can take over if I become disoriented. Did you hand launch or fly off the ground the first few times? It would seem to me that keeping the horizon in front of you and knowing your landmarks at all times is the key to staying out of trouble.

Tell me about your personal set-ups and did you buy a package or go to several sources for your equipment? Any pics would be great. I've looked at the Black Widow site but it looks like they only go up to 200mw and it sounds like everyone is using 600mw. When do you cross the line for transmitting power before you need special licensing such as HAM operators?

The camera seems to be the most important piece of the set-up. What about wide angle lenses? Would this increase your ability to see more of what's in front of you? The goggles would seem to be the next most important part to fly successfully. Would you recommend the ones with the gyro's?

Last question is, what should I expect to spend for all the equipment needed?


Thanks again for all your help.

Drew

I don't know the upper limit of what Black Widow sells. I have two of his 50 mw tx's and one 200 mw. My club owns its flying field and has pretty strict limits about flying beyond certain bounds, thus, at my home field I never get very far. The allowable flying area is large enough so that few people ever feel comfortable at the limits. This is mostly about noise but it still applies to all. That's one of the reasons for not needing that much tx power.

The camera of choice seems to be the KX131. I fly a KX141, which as more resolution but so far I have been unable to actually record the quality that I am sending. You can see it clearly in a monitor, but the analog input of my camcorder can't capture the difference. I got but haven't tried an Archos 500AV and I am hoping for a bit of improvement.

I think a ham license is needed for the power we use. I have been studying and keep passing the practice tests, but haven't gotten around to taking the actual tech test yet. It doesn't look that hard, I just want to take a few more practice tests and study the questions I miss.

BWAV sells all the different lenses you will ever need. I have used the 120, 90 and 60 degree lenses. (the numbers are approximate.) I used the 120 indoors, but I like the bigger images of the 60. With the goggles on it is a bit like having tunnel vision so the 120 is not a bad choice except for the distortion. Also things that look far away seem to get close almost suddenly. like when you try to put yourself in the picture.

I am afraid to tally up what I have spent so far, but I don't miss the money and I would really miss the gear and the flying if it wasn't available, so I just ignore the bottom line.

Head tracking is nice. It gets rid of some of the feel of tunnel vision. I have several pairs of goggles and no single set is my hands down favorite. I think the right goggle hasn't come along yet. Sony Glastron's brightness and wide view combined with 800 by 600 resolution and room for eyeglasses is what I want.

I have been working on a panorama of our field. So far it's pretty bad since it is all video frames from different flights, but I will try to do a good one from the center of our flying area. Something like that would be great for studying the aerial view, since you can actually turn it to any orientation, rather than look at a video that just shows the same thing again and again.

Pete

[igiveup]

Thanks Pete, I'm seeing more and more threads in the forum asking about getting started and evaluation of equipment that is extremely helpful. I would like to post somewhere in E-zone looking for pilots flying FPV in the DFW/Ft. Worth metro-plex but not sure what forum would be the best. Any suggestions??

[PeteSchug]

Thanks Pete, I'm seeing more and more threads in the forum asking about getting started and evaluation of equipment that is extremely helpful. I would like to post somewhere in E-zone looking for pilots flying FPV in the DFW/Ft. Worth metro-plex but not sure what forum would be the best. Any suggestions??

This forum is probably the best, the AV forum second and any one of the video forums, since I have seen on-board video on just about all of them. Once you do on-board video you are one step away from trying FPV.

I started on my own and expected to be able to fly my glider FPV, looking at the screen of my camcorder. I never had time to even take a peek, but the point is that as soon as I got set up for on-board video I wanted to do FPV. I just had to learn that there was a lot more to it. I was aware of the Sony Glasstrons but it took a while to discover that they were still available on e-bay.

I can't imagine anyone having on-board video and not wanting to do FPV.

Pete