Nothing inspirational here, just testing out some acrobatics on my new Afro 30 ESCs.... I really like them!!!

20131020 Flippy McFlip-Flip FPV (EDIT) (1 min 12 sec)

A few flights from around the Rocklin area with the TBS Discovery:

20131006 Screws Fall Out FPV (4 min 54 sec)

20131006 Sunday School FPV Flight (6 min 46 sec)

...Continue Reading

More fun with the TBS Discovery:

20130602 Proximity und Gap FPV (RAW) (8 min 20 sec)

Now that Spring is finally here in the Sac Valley region, it becomes a Friday night after-work ritual to hang out with some good company, enjoy a few beers and fly till dark. After that, the LEDs come out!

This is a comp of last night's FPV action before sunset:

20130426 "Spring Fridays" (Music Edit) (3 min 15 sec)

20130421 TBS Discovery "Dumb Thumb" FPV (RAW) (3 min 31 sec)

20130421 TBS Discovery "Spring Landscaping" FPV (RAW) (5 min 24 sec)

...Continue Reading

Setup:

• TBS Disco
• CC3D
• Sunnysky 980
• SimonK 30A
• APC 9x4.7 SF
• 3S 3300
• Rangelink LRS w/half-wave dipole
• 1280 600w RHCP
• Sony Super HAD CCD II camera
• GoPro HD (ver 1)

20130412 TBS Discovery FPV Flight #1 "Supa Low" (RAW) (5 min 55 sec)

20130403 TBS Discovery FPV Flight 2 (RAW) (6 min 16 sec)

...Continue Reading

2012-10-07 FPV Flight 1 (RAW) "Limbo Edition" (9 min 37 sec)

Current (yet evolving) Airframe setup:

Skysurfer (http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...roducts_id=507)
Custom FPV pod
800mW 1280MHz video transmitter (http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...oducts_id=913_
SC2000 CCD camera (http://www.securitycamera2000.com/pr...-Menu-DNR.html)
2.5mm lens (http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/Lens-for-...s-Cameras.html)
LC Filter (to use the flight battery to power the camera/TX) - (http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/Power-Sup...-L-C-Type.html)
DIY Right-hand circular polarized clover-leaf antenna (available commercially as well from (http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...roducts_id=457)
Chainlink LRS v1 UHF 8ch rx (discontinued)
Heading hold gyro for roll stability (only used when it is very gusty)
3000 mAh and 3300 mAh 3S batteries.
2212-6 2000kv
30A generic ESC
5a basic BEC
Either a GoPro with protective case or an 808 #16 model keychain camera

Ground station

Comfy chair ;-)
Tripod mounted:
(2) 1.2 video receivers with upgraded SAW filters (http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...roducts_id=516)
DIY Right-hand circular polarized skew-planar wheel antenna (available commercially as well from (http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...roducts_id=457)
Eagletree Eagle Eyes for diversity and video distribution (http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/EagleEyes...ontroller.html)
Cheap ebay digital voltage meter
2000mAh 3S
Fatshark Dominators (http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...roducts_id=522)
Optional 7" Haier LCD TV for guests
My ancient Spektrum DX6 hacked and modded for PPM out
Chainlink v1 transmitter with half-wave whip antenna

Raw flight dump of last night's FPV flight. Lots of speed, down really low followed by some formation flying with a buddy. Went too fast for too long and LVC'd but got lucky with a landing w/ no video!

2012-09-22 FPV Flight 1 (RAW) (14 min 7 sec)

Getting better at the low and local. Learning to find speed lines is becoming fun biggest thrill. Keeping a flight-log of raw FPV flights on my youtube channel. Check it out, please.

2012-09-14 FPV Flight 1 (RAW) (11 min 41 sec)

Continuing the training. Gradually building up the skills and building confidence in the setup.

FPV is positively the most satisfying fun I've had in the hobby!

More FPV training 4-8-2012 (2 min 37 sec)

First FPV flights 2-4-2012 (2 min 45 sec)

My FPV setup is a work-in-progress, so please don't take any of this as gospel:

EagleEyes FPV Ground Station: For now, this is simply a video distribution device with room to grow. http://www.eagletreesystems.com/osd/EagleEyes.htm

Sunsky 1.2G 800mw video TX/RX http://www.sunsky-online.com/view/13...6+receiver.htm

Sony CCD Camera (DPC-520S) Great camera! Avoid CMOS cameras. http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/product.p...cat=264&page=1

2.1mm wide angle lens This lens looks great, but I might switch over the the 2.5mm. http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16295

Homemade IBCrazy Skew Planar Wheel (RHCP) RX Antenna. Pure AWESOMENESS https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...1352583&pp=100

Homemade IBCrazy Clover TX antenna - pure awesomeness pt2. 1120MHz. https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=1388264

DPCAV low pass filter for 1.2 The video TX is just too much power and causes harmonic interference with my 2.4 control TX. This is important with this setup. http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16438

7" Digital Haier TV Great little monitor with decent daylight visibility and shows static when signal is weak/low. Same as the Haier monitors. Got this for 30 bucks at CVS in a blowout sale. http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Prism-.../dp/B001W8WEGC

That it for now. Goggles are on the horizon along with a bunch of other goodies.

Other stuff: 2 2200mAh 3S packs parallel for the ground station. Cheap and disposable Harbor Freight case. LCD voltmeter.

The SlowStick makes for a great fun starter platform. But, it's lack of roll control stability, super draggy with all the dangly bits, and lack of crash resistance are among a few of its short-comings for FPV. As a proof of concept however, it is perfect.

Installed the 1.8 release code of the MultiWii the other day and tested it out this week. Very impressive stability improvements!


Testing the autolevel/barometer:

001 (2 min 32 sec)

Little acro-mode play:

002 (2 min 23 sec)

...Continue Reading

After months and months of thinking about it and doing research, as well as looking at an nearly empty hobby budget, I finally took the multirotor plunge. I'm on the cheap, and was really happy when I heard on the podcast "TheCrashCast" was going to do a build-along series called the "QSC"-Quick Simple & Cheap multirotor project. They were producing a blank PCB to be populated with Wii MotionPlus and Nunchuck components with an Arduino processor to act as the brains of the system. I'm no double E so I had a lot to learn.

Arducopter QSC mod flight testing

Arducopter QSC mod flight testing (3 min 27 sec)

One month later and on my second airframe, I'm having a blast with this thing everyday. I have zero heli experience outside of simulator time and AirHogs Havocs but am now doing flips and rolls and learning to control it quickly. I don't think I've had this much fun with the hobby since I first started flying. Not to mention the pucker is back!

Arducopter QSC Inflight Footage

Arducopter QSC Inflight Footage (4 min 24 sec)

...Continue Reading

A SlowStick is like an old friend. Sometimes we drift apart. After a time, the friendship is rekindled and reborn.

I've recently started flying mine again, and completely forgot how much fun they can be. Spec'ing, carrier touch-and-go, limbo, combat, flying catches, and just plane lazy goofing off. Really hard to beat the SS for fun after a day of ripping it up with our jets and 3d planes.

The fun multiplies when a bunch of buddies decide its time to sortie a bunch of them with LEDs. On April Fool's day, no less! Spectators came from miles away to try and figure out what the crazy lights in the sky were from!

Mine has Millennium X-Gear and mounts, set up in a Tricycle formation. This configuration has proven to be a lot of fun and helps keep the bad landing habits from sinking in.... Added winglets to help put light on the wing. White lights are switch controlled....Continue Reading

On a night flyer kick at the moment.

Flys nice when the CG is just right. Low speed is actually very good for a delta, but turns are like most "Pizza Box Flyers"-tricky to master as you usually have to feed a bit of elevator and give it some bank to come out of the turn, otherwise it will slop-out.

Pretty much all low end gear:

• 9mm EPP #1.3
• 6mm Depron control horns
• 2 9gr HXT900s
• 1 6gr HXT500
• 1500kv Blue Wonder w/GWS 8x4.3
• Spektrum 6210E clone
• Hobbywing 18a ESC
• 3S 360 Rhinos seem to be the right battery for the plane.

I've just received and started building my Phlatprinter 3. I'm blown away at the quality and thoroughness of all the pieces, packaging and even virtually all the tools to build it. If you want to learn more about this awesome tool, a must for any foam freaks, check it out here: http://www.phlatboyz.com/

I built the Phlatprinter 2 last year and it was a joy all the way. Easy, no-brainer assembly and accurate fitting parts. The new Phlatprinter 3 looks even easier to build and idiot proof- and I need that!

Browse the pics for comments.

OK, this has been a very rewarding project and it flies great. I recently started a revision of the first prototype with a few goals, primarily weight savings related and tweaks to make it more survivable in a crowded indoor gym.

• Pull Pull setup, eliminating the carbon control rods.
• AR6300 with micro connectors & 3.7g servos
• Drag Plates
• EPP on the nose to improve survivability
• Complete rework of the vertical milling
• Gentle tweaks to the profiles
• Tighten the slots for snug fitting.
• Little color this time now that I know it will fly good

The primary goal of making a micro/near-micro indoor plane that still felt like a larger plane without the squirrelly-ness of the ultra micros out there currently. Capturing a hybrid of pattern and 3D was another of the major goals.

SPECS:

• 23.2"/588mm WS
• 25"/640mm
• AUW: 80g
• Dry weight: 66g
• Hyperion 25c 2S 180: 13,6g
• Alternate is the TP Pro Lite v3 250 2s (17g)
• 3 3.7g servos (unmarked-same as RCTimer ones)
• AR6300 used with DX6i
• Pentium 6A ESC
• HobbyCity 18-11 2000kv Micro Brushless Outrunner (10g)
• GWS 5030 prop
• 3mm EPP doubler CNC cut
• 3mm Depron milled CNC cut
• Radical RC biased control horn
• UHU-POR and Mercury Foam Safe assembly.
• Gorilla White on the doubler and epoxy to mount the lite-ply motor mount

Skyburners Micro Yak (4 min 53 sec)

Please forgive me if it seems like I am showing off, this plane is awesome for its size!...Continue Reading

Skyburners Su-37 Terminator profile. This plane is a blast. Cobras and 360 flat spins due to the elevator in the prop-wash with some extreme throws (+/-80 deg). Opens up nicely with 3S 1550 30c on a Grayson Super MegaJet combo. Highly recommended!

The 6mm Depron is milled on a Phlatprinter MK2. The tab-in-slot construction makes it snap together easily. Utilizing pocket milling eliminates the need for unsightly tab holes in the upper deck of the fuse.

Strange brownout on AR6000:



Already repaired and with a dozen more flights on it. Still never identified why the brownout occurred or why it hasn't happened again....Continue Reading

I took some design cues from both Leadfeather and 3Deranged's Yak interpretations and designed a small field 3D acrobat with a hint of F3P. At 23 inches wing span, and 25" to the tail, the target is a lightweight compact Depron model for intermediate to advanced pilots. Not being an EPP plane, the plane will have low crash survivability, instead relying on low inertia and mass combined with good pilot skill will make this an awesome plane. Choosing depron as the medium was based on the reduced need for stiffeners in order to preserve crispness in acrobatic control. Milling was extensively used to help manage the weight of the airframe.

In many ways, this is a distinctly different plane than its inspiration and it was drawn from the ground up.

I've also emphasized making it easy to snap the pieces accurately in place. Designed around the AR6300, true 4g servos and the "HobbyCity 18-11 2000kv Micro Brushless Outrunner (10g)" motor, it should fall under 85g.

There are still several things on my to do list for the next iteration. Mostly addressing small clean up and part management in the code, as well as switching to a grooved carbon channel. Currently, the rudder control will interfere with the elevator at extreme angles. This among a few other issues remain. Milling this much material takes a little over an hour at a conservative 25ipm on the MK2 Phlatprinter.

I finished a Morback I had CNCd back in May. Flies great on calm days. Might be too big for the indoor gym the club uses to be fun. 34in WS, 6.5oz (no batt), TB9, 5gr TowerPro, 2 4.8gr "RC Timer" servos, BP A2204-19. 360 2s Rhinos.

Also, got my Phlatprinter MK2 calibrated and kicking out foam. Milled 9mm Depron for a leadfeather Yak. The rest will be EPP, only I didn't have enough on hand so the surfaces will be Depron...