Scale FPV Precision Aerobatics from RC Spitfire Cockpit Using Head Tracker (9 min 18 sec)

I understand not many people are into FPV, for various reasons: complexity, cost, planes look more interesting from outside etc. FPV is but one rabbit hole among many one can explore in RC hobby. I do want to share why I chose to dive in...

1. Double the utility for each plane - so I can fly both LOS and FPV. I don't have much storage space for many planes so adding the in-cockpit experience renews interest in a plane I am already familiar with flying LOS.

2. Experience the challenges pilots face flying the real deal on scale planes - for example, we read about the long cowling in front of Corsair cockpit blocking view to the carrier on straight-in approach. So fleet air arm pilots developed curved approach to land on carriers. Putting FPV camera at scale pilot eye position would allow one to experience the same challenges where a LOS RC flyer cannot.

3. Formation and dogfights - It's very exciting to see planes fly fairly close together as LOS flyers, but given the third person perspective, it's actually difficult to maintain safe separation at certain angles. With FPV flying especially with head-tracking, wingmen can maintain safe separation following formation training methods practiced by full scale pilots.

Head Tracking FPV Chase - E-flite Viper 90 vs T-28 1.2m (8 min 46 sec)

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Practice head-tracking FPV formation flight in warbirds imitating Heritage Flight with guys from Blackstar FPV Demo Team.
Lead pilot was flying line of sight in fading light, so had to keep the pattern tight with steep banks. The other three including me in the T-33 flew using head-tracking FPV. Fun, challenging, and exhilarating all at the same time

RC FPV Formation Heritage Flight Practice with P-51, F-16, T-33 & Viper Jet as Chase Plane (1 min 19 sec)

FPV Head-tracker setup is similar for all brands of air transmitters using trainer mode. It’s convenient to look at videos instead of digging out the info on transmitter users manual. So I made a couple to help beginners out. There are plenty of videos for FrSky and Open TX based radios. So these are for other major brand TX’s:

HT setup on Futuba radio:

How to Setup Head Tracker on Futuba Radio? (3 min 19 sec)

HT setup on Graupner radio:

How to Setup Head Tracker on Graupner Transmitter (2 min 4 sec)

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Realistic head-tracking FPV dogfight between E-flite T-28 1.2m (4s) and Flightline F4U Corsair 1.6m (6s) using Tally-ho Head tracker, Motionsic BAG (BadAss Gimbal pan & tilt) and a modified functional Mk8 navy reflector sight (like what’s used at Air Combat USA or even used by full scale Corsairs in World War 2). What started out as a loose chase turned out to be a intense dogfight. Head tracking FPV camera enables each pilot to intuitively track bandit through aerobatic maneuvers simply by moving his head. It's the most immersive, realistic flying experience possible flying a RC plane. Enjoy!

💥Head Tracking FPV Dogfight E-flite T-28 vs Flightline F4U Corsair (6 min 44 sec)

High speed, all out chase following a ultra smooth 12s 120mm Schuebeler fan powered composite ViperJet. 2m span plane stills looks tiny in video a mere 20 ft away. I blame the wide FOV of FPV cameras.. Or my chase skills just aren’t up to snuff

Head Tracking FPV High Speed Chase of a Composite ViperJet (4 min 37 sec)

Realistic altitude tour of scenic flying field, sunset appreciation and dead-stick landing practice.

FPV Jet Dead-stick Landing Practice in E-flite Viper 90 (9 min 1 sec)

Practice simulated dive bombing run and high speed proximity flying using reflector sight as aiming aid and attitude indicator in a E-flite Viper EDF jet with head-tracking FPV. As close to feeling like Maverick flying a RC jet as it gets!

FPV Dive Bombing & Proximity Flying Using Reflector Sight & Head Tracker in E-flite Viper 90mm (7 min 36 sec)

Using head-tracking FPV to fly precision aerobatics in a FMS Zero like a pilot from cockpit view in a new RC field in Taiwan - with 1000' concrete paved runway!

Head Tracker FPV Aerobatics Demo in FMS Zero 1400mm RC Plane with Reflector Sight (6 min 29 sec)

Flying head-tracking FPV from cockpit of E-flite Viper to explore surroundings at Trabuco Flyers RC field. A very interesting field at bottom of a canyon with great views. Enjoy!

Head Tracking FPV Aerobatic Tour at Trabuco Flyers RC Field (9 min 2 sec)

Working Scale Reflector Sight

The glaring missing gadget in any credible FPV Air Combat/ Dogfight experience is a crystal clear cross hair on a bandit. The video below demonstrates the fun of using a reflector sight to aim at ground and air targets and why it's superior to using hand drawn crosshairs

Top Gun FPV - Fighter Pilot View Using Head Tracker with Reflector Sight (8 min 48 sec)

Head-tracker and gimbals available at: https://fpvdogfight.com/

We see so many quad videos chasing cars, buggies, RC vehicles but few FPV camera actually placed in RC cars. I wonder why? Using head-tracking FPV with wide range Pan servo, one can easily get realistic views from inside RC cars as if driving a full size car. All the thrills of aggressive driving (less g force of course) but none of the risk.

I think it's a lot of fun and time the hobby moves in that direction

Head Tracking FPV RC Truck Night Race (4 min 19 sec)

A good head-tracking FPV setup makes "following the leader" much easier than fixed-camera FPV or LOS flying. It's actually hard for lead to shake off chase plane unless he deliberately uses the sun to do so. This was not a dogfight, but pretty close. So much fun!

Head Tracking FPV Follow the Leader - E-flite Viper 90 vs Freewing L-39 (7 min 36 sec)

I made a little video on how to setup head-tracker for Spektrum transmitters. Hope it helps as these are the TX most widely used at RC fields. It’s helpful to follow the plug-in procedure since Spektrum TX would not read the HT signal if plug-in sequence is not followed correctly and keep calling out “no trainer signal”. Quite frustrating at times

How to Setup Head Tracker for Spektrum RC Transmitters (4 min 29 sec)

Thanks Cliff (Dlktdr) and collaborators for developing the open source head tracker build! Really enjoying the wireless feature not worrying about tugging the trainer chord. I move my head a lot in flight. Smooth, fast, and precise tracking meaning not having to recenter HT at all during flight is great. I forget Head-tracker is there and just feel I am one with the plane!

FPV Precision Aerobatics Demo using Open Source Head Tracker in E-flite Viper 90mm (6 min 44 sec)

FPV Precision Aerobatics in Xfly Sirius Jet (5 min 43 sec)

Two RC pilots each wearing DJI FPV Goggles with head tracker fly their jets from realistic cockpit view and engage in mock dogfight. No actual projectile fired, just maneuvering to get into firing position. Closure rates were almost too fast to see bogie on merge- as the jets get small fast. Best viewed on large screen.

Lead aircraft: Freewing L-39 Albatross (6s 80mm EDF jet)
Chase aircraft: Xfly Sirius (6s 80mm EDF jet)

RC Jet FPV Dogfight Using Head Tracker (2 min 18 sec)

List of items to convert any RC plane to fly this way:

DJI Digital FPV Goggles:
https://www.getfpv.com/dji-fpv-goggles-v2.html

DJI Digital FPV Air unit
https://fpvdogfight.com/products/dji...it-by-caddxfpv

Open source Head-tracker by Cliff/dlktdr
https://medlin-drone-store.myshopify...-tracker?aff=3

Best Pan & Tilt: Motionsic BadAss Gimbal availalbe at: https://fpvdogfight.com/products/mot...-badass-gimbal

Ever dreamt of shrinking down and piloting your model airplane from it's cockpit as a child? It's a dream shared by many. Well, flying head-tracking FPV with the pan & tilt gimbal/ camera positioned at scale pilot eye position inside the cockpit is the closest to realizing that dream, at least visually. Something that the guys at the scale FPV forum have perfected.

Since I don't have much room to keep buying new planes, I want to maximize each model's use by both flying LOS and also piloting from the cockpit with head-tracking HD FPV. So I am slowly converting each plane in my hangar for flying from the cockpit. Some are better suited then others...

I just converted a Xfly Sirius Sport jet to FPV. No flight controller, no gyro, just putting in a pan & tilt (Motionsic BadAss) gimbal with DJI FPV camera/air unit and flew it! Here's a video practicing precision aerobatics with it. Lots of fun!

DJI FPV RC Jet Aerobatics (4 min 29 sec)

Some salient points for using head-tracker to enhance situational awareness and scale realism. And of course, it's second nature to move one's head around when flying. Freedom!

RC Spitfire Aerobatics - How Headtracking Enhances FPV 💥💥💥 (1 min 30 sec)

Over the years, many fellow RC pilots have asked me where I get my pan & tilts. I assume many would like to fly scale HT FPV like I do, but commonly available P & T's all seem to have obvious faults. So for my 2021 new year resolution, I set out to develop and produce one for sale that solves all the common faults. After much delay, I have achieved that goal!

Introducing Motionsic B.A.G. (BadAss Gimbal) - the most practical pan & tilt making head-tracking FPV easy!

Designed for use with DJI FPV Air Unit camera and FPV cameras 20mm width or smaller including Caddx Air Unit, Walksnail HD Micro & now DJI O3 camera. It fits easily under most RC plane canopies 40” wingspan and up. Can also be installed on RC cars, crawlers, boats, or copters for use with a head-tracker to give realistic in-cockpit visual experience.

Attributes:

Compact - fits under most RC plane canopies, needs only cylindrical space 40mm diameter, 50mm tall for full movement with the FPV camera

Easy to install - use included screws and nuts to affix camera and platform to plane in minutes

Smooth/precise movement - includes 2x all-metal gear, digital, premium ball-bearing servos made by Savöx in Taiwan (compare with sh0257mg, $35 retail each). https://www.savoxusa.com/products/sa...hnical-details

Check six for bandits - custom servos allow the camera to pan 280° to see 360° (with camera field of view), tilt up 80° down 45°

Easy to adjust camera height/level to scale...Continue Reading

FPV precision formation practice flying figure 8 in two identical RC EDF jets - E-flite Viper 90

Plane: E-flite Viper 90mm EDF Jet
RC TX: Tandem X20S
Stabilizer: Hobby Eagle A3 Super 3 V2
FPV Gear: DJI FPV Goggle V1, Air Unit, Camera
Head-Tracker: Aerocali Wireless HT, PARA enabled
Pan & Tilt Camera Mount: Motionsic BAG - BadAss Gimbal

#FPVjet #FPVformation #headtrackingFPV #MotionsicBAG

E-flite Viper 90 FPV Figure 8 Formation (2 min 38 sec)