mrblucor
Jan 06, 2008, 02:23 PM
Hello All,
I'm looking to build a model that will carry 5 to 10 Lbs of payload. I plan to use electric power because it will have less vibration. My payload needs to fly over water running track lines. I figure an autopilot of some sort would be in order. I can take off and land under manual control and use the auto pilot once in the air to do my track lines. I'm looking for about 1/2 hour of endurance. My first thought is to build a senior telemaster either 8' or 10 ' version and add floats to it. The payload will be a special camera to record coral reefs and a GPS. The camera and GPS data will be recorded onboard. I'll need to cover an area with each flight, the area will be covered by doing track lines (mowing the lawn). It's OK if the lines overlap a little as long as the GPS data is good, that can be sorted out through post processing. I have 3 years experience with electric RC aircraft 50 - 1500 Watts and 20 years as an electrical engineer. I need help with the auto pilot! What works? What's light? Who sells good stuff and who sell BS? My budget for this project is expected to be about 5K or so. Can anyone help me?
JB
I'm looking to build a model that will carry 5 to 10 Lbs of payload. I plan to use electric power because it will have less vibration. My payload needs to fly over water running track lines. I figure an autopilot of some sort would be in order. I can take off and land under manual control and use the auto pilot once in the air to do my track lines. I'm looking for about 1/2 hour of endurance. My first thought is to build a senior telemaster either 8' or 10 ' version and add floats to it. The payload will be a special camera to record coral reefs and a GPS. The camera and GPS data will be recorded onboard. I'll need to cover an area with each flight, the area will be covered by doing track lines (mowing the lawn). It's OK if the lines overlap a little as long as the GPS data is good, that can be sorted out through post processing. I have 3 years experience with electric RC aircraft 50 - 1500 Watts and 20 years as an electrical engineer. I need help with the auto pilot! What works? What's light? Who sells good stuff and who sell BS? My budget for this project is expected to be about 5K or so. Can anyone help me?
JB