New SuperMiss mission (no. 3)...

[icebear]

I have just undertaken a minor renovation of the SuperMiss after 150+ miles of flight during the last season;

- The ESC+BEC could be moved inside the fuselage to allow more space for the LiPO pack up front. Potentially the new EVO Lite 5350 mAh would work, giving 50-60 minutes cruise time.

- New balanced higher pitched prop (APC-e 8x6) seems a perfect match for the MEGA 16/25/4, increasing both efficiency and cruise speed to 25 mph

- Some minor paintwork to the cowl and motor area, covering repairs etc

My new mission for the SuperMiss will be of a more practical nature and not so spectacular. I will try to fly around my company to shoot some video + take stills.

The premises consists of 20+ buildings spread out over an area of 12 hectars (30 acres or 120.000 sq.meters), so it will be perfect to create a rectangular flight path with about 400 by 600 meter legs.

Here are some details of the planned route.

More reports to follow soon...

/Icebear

[Munin]

Good luck Icebear

Btw how do you choose altitude, raw estimate or seagull ?

/Munin

[icebear]

Thanks Munin!

After a few years of AP:ing I am getting better at guessing - 80 meters is a good height for video and stills... So yes, raw estimate!

/Icebear

[kd7ost]

Sounds like a real work mission this time Bjorn. Fun stuff even though it is work. ;)

Dan

[icebear]

You're so right Dan! I think this must be the best assignment this year. And I am not even getting paid extra for it :o
But to be able to fly during working hours is good enough! :D

/Bjorn

[icebear]

After weeks of wind, rain, hailstorms, etc I had time and the opportunity to complete the 'good day at work' mission.

The SuperMiss is now setup to just enter a few WP's and toss away on video/photo missions.

Just need to build that stabilized video mount soon...

Here's a link to a short video of the mission;

http://www.diydrones.com/video/video/show?id=705844:Video:4208


Enjoy!

/Icebear

[Paul_BB]

Here's a link to a short video of the mission;

http://www.diydrones.com/video/video/show?id=705844:Video:4208


Enjoy!

/Icebear

Hi Icebear,

Nice video. You're the only one with real UAV videos here ! :rolleyes:
I prefer above all the ligthhouse mission video because it was risky.
I've finished the hardware and continue coding. I'm assembling the Miss airplane. What kind of camera do you have ?

Paul

[icebear]

Thanks Paul! Glad you liked it...and I agree that the Lighthouse Mission was more entertaining becasue of the risk of losing the gear :o
I have thought about doing the tour again and this time take video instead of stills.
Will see if I can't work up the confidence to do it. Now that I have solved the glitching Rx problem last time it shouldn't be a problem (the elevator went crazy at max distance and caused severe pitching).

I use Pentax Optio cams for my SuperMiss - in this case the s5z works well for video.

Good luck with the coding and keep us posted!

/Icebear

[Tom Harper]

Bjorn,

That was fun!

Nice place to work. No traffic or parking problems.

Tom

[_helitron_]

Congrats to the new mission you've done again Bjorn, like the video also :) !

By the way, how have you solved the FS-8 glitch problem ? Perhaps you remember I had also problems with my FS-8 and must replace it with other stuff.

Cheers,

//Erwin

[icebear]

Thanks for your comments Tom & Erwin!

No, certainly no parking problems at work :)

Erwin - The glitch I am refering to was when I got out of radio range. The servos set for 'last-good-frame-hold' started jittering but the ones with a fixed failsafe position were OK.

My solution was to skip 'last-good-frame-hold' on the elevator which means I must reprogram failsafe everytime I change elevator trim for autonomous flight.
I also always turn the Tx off during autopilot flight as a precaution. It is really quick to turn it on again if needed.

I have heard that the FS8 is really sensitive to your Tx tuning so you COULD send your Tx to FMA for a checkup but I know that sounds like a hazzle to bother with. People who have done it have had perfect range afterwards.
I got 1,6 km (1 mile) range with my FS-8 during the lighthouse mission so I guess mine is in tune with the FS-8. Never had any problems with mine, but like you I have heard others who have...

Cheers,
/Bjorn

[dmgoedde]

Too much wind and rain last night - couldn't fly. Anyway, this is Icebear's thred so I won't hijack it. :)

[_helitron_]

Erwin - The glitch I am refering to was when I got out of radio range. The servos set for 'last-good-frame-hold' started jittering but the ones with a fixed failsafe position were OK.

My solution was to skip 'last-good-frame-hold' on the elevator which means I must reprogram failsafe everytime I change elevator trim for autonomous flight.
I also always turn the Tx off during autopilot flight as a precaution. It is really quick to turn it on again if needed.

I have heard that the FS8 is really sensitive to your Tx tuning so you COULD send your Tx to FMA for a checkup but I know that sounds like a hazzle to bother with. People who have done it have had perfect range afterwards.
I got 1,6 km (1 mile) range with my FS-8 during the lighthouse mission so I guess mine is in tune with the FS-8. Never had any problems with mine, but like you I have heard others who have...

Cheers,
/Bjorn

Thanks for the explanations Bjorn.

I thought already to send the FS-8 back to FMA for checking/tuning but I'm not sure if it's worth the effort, shipping is very expensive to/from USA. I think I'll contact before the distributor in UK (Aurora) where I bought the 35 MHz version last year.

Btw. are you also waiting hard already for the Attopilot, Bjorn :) ?

Cheers,

//Erwin

[dmgoedde]

Icebear - if you feel weather will get impossibly bad too quickly, let me know and I can crank out a handmade PCB and get one in the mail to you about 1 week earlier, versus Sept 28th shipment.

Just in case you guys missed the Attopilot updates - All parts in hand to make 15 Attopilots, just waiting PCBs from commercial maker - arriving Sept 27th.

Dean

[_helitron_]

Don't feel any pressure Dean, was only a joke in my previous post :) !

//Erwin

[icebear]

Dean,

No pressure from me either! The weather is bad now but could be quite ok in October - it's very unpredictable, so I'll wait for the planned beta!

Erwin - I heard that it was your TX that could be tuned by FMA but that's even more of a hazzle...

Lets hope for a nice autumn in Austria/Sweden...:)

/Bjorn

[_helitron_]

Bjorn,

I think we'll have good weather conditions in October as usual and our countries are not so different regarding the weather I think :).

Cheers,

//Erwin

[icebear]

Hey Erwin,

I think you are right that we have about the same climate/weather as you here in the south, but the coming week doesn't look any good at all...

More rain and 10 m/s = 36 kph = 22 mph winds...

Better clear up soon for the Beta-testing!

/Bjorn

[_helitron_]

You're right Bjorn,

a lot of wind in your forcast :( ! In the moment weather is terrible here in Graz, rainy and cold. But weekend and start of next week looks not so bad for us :) !

Cheers,

//Erwin