Easy Star 3
This is my 3rd Easystar. I retired the second after having flown for nearly 120 hours. That set-up was sound, having flown reliably for nearly 3 years. I incorporated some improvements on this my 3rd:
1. Cleaner lines. Looks much better and probably helps reduce drag and increase range/endurance. Fewer non-foam parts, I think makes it less "threating". When people see it, they should not think it is anything other than a "foam toy plane.":
3. Full Wave Length antenna on both the airplane and the Tx. (Maximum range still to be tested).
4. FMA Co-pilot- I have this primarily for flight training. It will give me a "panic button" to right the plane when I teach newbies. As well, it comes in handy (in conjuction with pitch and roll gyros) in high winds or when I just want to leave the plane alone to have look around.
5. SimpleOSD- Just the essentials: V(Main Batter), Amps, mAH. (On order)
6. Night lighting- To be installed into wing.
Any questions. PM.
1. Cleaner lines. Looks much better and probably helps reduce drag and increase range/endurance. Fewer non-foam parts, I think makes it less "threating". When people see it, they should not think it is anything other than a "foam toy plane.":
a. Camera Ball Turret on the stock canopy2. 3700 mAH battery- It should increase total time on one cell to over 1 hour. No need to for longer flying time. That said, I can still hang another 2 cells as before. That will probably come in handy later for long range flights when I'm flying faster trying to actually get somewhere.
b. Embeded VTx in the tail w/ stripped antenna
c. Internal ESC
3. Full Wave Length antenna on both the airplane and the Tx. (Maximum range still to be tested).
4. FMA Co-pilot- I have this primarily for flight training. It will give me a "panic button" to right the plane when I teach newbies. As well, it comes in handy (in conjuction with pitch and roll gyros) in high winds or when I just want to leave the plane alone to have look around.
5. SimpleOSD- Just the essentials: V(Main Batter), Amps, mAH. (On order)
6. Night lighting- To be installed into wing.
Any questions. PM.
ATTF Podcast on FPV
I spoke to Chris, Diggs, and Jammie on www.allthingsthatfly.com about FPV.
To listen, click here.
I hope you find it informative.
To listen, click here.
I hope you find it informative.
The Evolution of a FPV EasyStar
My EZ* has evolved a lot in a year and a half...
Here's how I got started flying RC...I couldn't fly a plane coming towards me to save my life...The light bulb did not turn on until I started to fly FPV. The "Geek Box" allowed me to see things from the airplane, which helped me figure out the airplanes attitude...I still think it's an awesome set-up to learn how to fly and learn how to fly FPV.
RTF EZ, Video Pod, NiMH Batteries...
Here's what it looks like with standard wings, stock motor, LiPos, no gyros. I flew my bird like this for a year...It was a hoot. I got to fly it Day and Night.
Here it is whith EG wings, ARC 28-37-3, LiPos and gyros. I wanted it to be able to carry more batteries for endurance/range and be more stable, so that I can fly in stronger winds making more fly-days available...7 kts of wind here...
Remote Antenna & VTx. It gets cold here. With this set-up, I can fly from the comfort of my car...
Set-up details below:
Here's how I got started flying RC...I couldn't fly a plane coming towards me to save my life...The light bulb did not turn on until I started to fly FPV. The "Geek Box" allowed me to see things from the airplane, which helped me figure out the airplanes attitude...I still think it's an awesome set-up to learn how to fly and learn how to fly FPV.
RTF EZ, Video Pod, NiMH Batteries...
| http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...43315126&hl=en |
Here's what it looks like with standard wings, stock motor, LiPos, no gyros. I flew my bird like this for a year...It was a hoot. I got to fly it Day and Night.
| My FPV Set-up (3 min 47 sec) |
| Three Swords (1 min 38 sec) |
Here it is whith EG wings, ARC 28-37-3, LiPos and gyros. I wanted it to be able to carry more batteries for endurance/range and be more stable, so that I can fly in stronger winds making more fly-days available...7 kts of wind here...
| http://www.vimeo.com/1246537 |
Remote Antenna & VTx. It gets cold here. With this set-up, I can fly from the comfort of my car...
| Heated FPV Cockpit (3 min 47 sec) |
Set-up details below:
Easystar Long Endurance/Long Range Upgrade
I finally upgraded my trusty Easystar.
I plan to fly my Easystar around the fjords. The intent of the mod is to have an endurance of around 2 hours, while keeping all the nice flying qualities. To prove the system, I flew an "over water" recce of a light house 2.5 km off the coast.
Development Thread.
Some videos.
I modified Easyglider wings from BP Hobbies to fit in the EasyStar. I decided to do that rather than just buy an Easyglider because of:
- The location of the prop (not in the way of the camera).
- I wanted it to fit in the carry box. I cannot understate how important it is to the entire "system". With it, I'm able to take the plane anywhere by plane, trane, automobile, bike, foot...It's been all over Asia, North America and Europe.
The big wings give the Easystar a theoretical max weight on take off of about 40 ozs. She currently weighs in at 34 ozs. With the big wings, she flies much more slowly, climbs more agressively, and is more stable. They are interchangable w/ the stock wings which I still use occasionally.
I use ailerons.
I enlarged the rudder to handle the bigger wings.
It has stability augmentation in pitch and roll via 2 EKK 704 rate gyros. They give the plane a "smoother ride", even in high gusty winds.
I flew for a while w/ 3 channels, which was good enough with wind less than 8 knots. I activated the ailerons and now am able to comfortably fly it in winds up to 15 knots. This openned up quite a few more fly days.
I replaced the stock Speed 400 motor, 8 Amp ESC and 5 X 4 prop with a Brushless ARC 28-37-3 Motor, Amp Suppo ESC from LightFlightRC and 6 X 5 cut from a 7 X 5 prop.
I fly with a 2300 mAH 8C 2S LiPo from Microwireless. I've gotten over 1 hour of flight time with that. Often, I fly with a second battery, carried externally, theoretically giving up to 2 hour endurance. I've only flown in this configuration for 1 hour and 40 minutes. It can carry up to 2 more packs, but who wants to fly for more than 3 hours anyway?
I installed a wet compass. It should help w/ orientations over water.
I use a 200mW 2.4 GHz Video Tx.
I have a 8 dBi Patch Antenna for Base Station (2 km w/ 200mW VTx, expected range of video link- 3km)
Here's a wag at what I'm getting based on some rough math or recent flying experience:
- 100 percent thrust upgrade.
- 200 percent increase in rate of climb.
- 100 percent increase in Max Gross Weight (25 to 40+ ozs).
- Current Weight 34 ozs. (40 ozs. with two external flight packs)
- 20 percent reduction in wing loading.
- 10 percent reduction in take-off speed.
- 15 percent reduciton of approach speed.
- 20 percent better motor efficiency.
- Proven 1.5 hour endurance. (Theoretical 3 hours w/ 2 X External Aux-packs)
Here are the pending Upgrades (Funded):
- Crew-operated Mission Camera Pod. I have a second complete video set that I will install in a removable pod, independently controlled by another radio. This way, I can fly, and someone else can look.
- 2nd, 3rd & 4th External Hard Points, for spare batteries, cameras, etc...
Pending Upgrades awaiting Finance Minister Funding (Approximately $1100
- Tracking 14 dBi Patch Antenna for Base Station (Expected range of video link- 10km)
- Waiting on AeroLINK or DMD+DragonOSD. I'd like an integrated On-screen Display, GPS, Autopilot, Auto-Nav System, Full-duplex Control/Telemetry Link & Moving Map Display. (Expected control/telemetry range > 10+km).
- Recce/Mapping Camera
- Night Vision Flight Cam
Any questions, please PM me & I'll get back to you.
I plan to fly my Easystar around the fjords. The intent of the mod is to have an endurance of around 2 hours, while keeping all the nice flying qualities. To prove the system, I flew an "over water" recce of a light house 2.5 km off the coast.
| http://www.vimeo.com/1437101 |
Development Thread.
Some videos.
I modified Easyglider wings from BP Hobbies to fit in the EasyStar. I decided to do that rather than just buy an Easyglider because of:
- The location of the prop (not in the way of the camera).
- I wanted it to fit in the carry box. I cannot understate how important it is to the entire "system". With it, I'm able to take the plane anywhere by plane, trane, automobile, bike, foot...It's been all over Asia, North America and Europe.
The big wings give the Easystar a theoretical max weight on take off of about 40 ozs. She currently weighs in at 34 ozs. With the big wings, she flies much more slowly, climbs more agressively, and is more stable. They are interchangable w/ the stock wings which I still use occasionally.
I use ailerons.
I enlarged the rudder to handle the bigger wings.
It has stability augmentation in pitch and roll via 2 EKK 704 rate gyros. They give the plane a "smoother ride", even in high gusty winds.
I flew for a while w/ 3 channels, which was good enough with wind less than 8 knots. I activated the ailerons and now am able to comfortably fly it in winds up to 15 knots. This openned up quite a few more fly days.
I replaced the stock Speed 400 motor, 8 Amp ESC and 5 X 4 prop with a Brushless ARC 28-37-3 Motor, Amp Suppo ESC from LightFlightRC and 6 X 5 cut from a 7 X 5 prop.
I fly with a 2300 mAH 8C 2S LiPo from Microwireless. I've gotten over 1 hour of flight time with that. Often, I fly with a second battery, carried externally, theoretically giving up to 2 hour endurance. I've only flown in this configuration for 1 hour and 40 minutes. It can carry up to 2 more packs, but who wants to fly for more than 3 hours anyway?
I installed a wet compass. It should help w/ orientations over water.
I use a 200mW 2.4 GHz Video Tx.
I have a 8 dBi Patch Antenna for Base Station (2 km w/ 200mW VTx, expected range of video link- 3km)
Here's a wag at what I'm getting based on some rough math or recent flying experience:
- 100 percent thrust upgrade.
- 200 percent increase in rate of climb.
- 100 percent increase in Max Gross Weight (25 to 40+ ozs).
- Current Weight 34 ozs. (40 ozs. with two external flight packs)
- 20 percent reduction in wing loading.
- 10 percent reduction in take-off speed.
- 15 percent reduciton of approach speed.
- 20 percent better motor efficiency.
- Proven 1.5 hour endurance. (Theoretical 3 hours w/ 2 X External Aux-packs)
Here are the pending Upgrades (Funded):
- Crew-operated Mission Camera Pod. I have a second complete video set that I will install in a removable pod, independently controlled by another radio. This way, I can fly, and someone else can look.
- 2nd, 3rd & 4th External Hard Points, for spare batteries, cameras, etc...
Pending Upgrades awaiting Finance Minister Funding (Approximately $1100
- Tracking 14 dBi Patch Antenna for Base Station (Expected range of video link- 10km)
- Waiting on AeroLINK or DMD+DragonOSD. I'd like an integrated On-screen Display, GPS, Autopilot, Auto-Nav System, Full-duplex Control/Telemetry Link & Moving Map Display. (Expected control/telemetry range > 10+km).
- Recce/Mapping Camera
- Night Vision Flight Cam
Any questions, please PM me & I'll get back to you.
Scrt Sqrl Notes...
***If I were a Newbie, starting from scratch, and cost was a big factor, this would be my setup.***
Starter FPV set-up for less than $200!
Gyro Notes.
Co-Pilot and Gyros
BASIC FPV FLIGHT TRAINING THREAD
LANDINGS
I like to fly from small fields. To do that safely, I have to land precisely and accurately.
I have to control two parameters: Glideslope and Line-up. Flying the SAME glideslope and the SAME line up will put the plane on the SAME spot in the LZ.
Here's my wag at trying to make that happen:
I use my carry box as a landing aid. I stand the cover up around 3 paces from the box itself laying flat. If I am on glide slope and line-up, I should see a "T" as I fly in.
I also found that the carry box is highly visible in the terrain, and marks the landing aimpoint very well, especially when I'm flying into the sun, when the ground is totally washed out...
The proceedure goes:
1. Mark on top of an Initial Approach Point. I use a church, because it is easily distinguishable from the air.
2. Find the dot & go to it. This gives me a rough heading.
3. Make out the "T". This gives me more precise glideslope and line-up.
4. Maintain the "T" until the LZ is made.
5. Wave off and bring it arround if I get too far out of parameters.
It seems to work. Using this, I've been able to put my plane into the purple bush around 7 out of 10 times. I'm sure that number will get better. The true test will be when I try it out in some other location.
Check this out:
| More FPV Landings (2 min 4 sec) |
Night Landings
Same procedures I use in daylight. The difference are four lights...Red flasher on the back "nav aid"...White Flasher on the forward "nav aid" for glideslope and line up...an orage light (plastic pumpkin left over from halloween) to mark the forward edge of the bush...and a flashlight shined by my son at the airplane so that I know not to hit him (and me, 'cause I'm standing next to him).
So long as I am on line-up, the flashing light just becomes visible once I am on glideslope. I keep it barely visible on top of the middle light...I stay on glideslope. Very easy and reliable.
Sticky:
SCRTSQRL's Videos
Videos!
Check out the Three Swords...
Check out this beach...
Here's a video of some "Low Work".
It's a bit more tiring than being high...but a lot more fun...
Check out the Three Swords...
| Three Swords (1 min 38 sec) |
Check out this beach...
| FPV: Olbor, Norway (4 min 1 sec) |
Here's a video of some "Low Work".
It's a bit more tiring than being high...but a lot more fun...
| http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...03893880324647 |
More Videos
Flight Rules & Good Practices
Video Piloting: Controlling model aircraft by radio, where the primary pilot view is via live video imagery originated from the aircraft.
The Basics
Flight Rules
Flight Rules...some more
Know and stay in your "box"...Turn every 10 to 12 Seconds
Some advice on the size of your plane and the number of Servos on an ESC w/ BEC
Flight Plan
Intro to ORM
The Basics
Flight Rules
Flight Rules...some more
Know and stay in your "box"...Turn every 10 to 12 Seconds
Some advice on the size of your plane and the number of Servos on an ESC w/ BEC
Flight Plan
Intro to ORM
Secret Squirrels
Fpv Easystar Flight Rules, Limits & Operating Procedures
This is the plane I started on...
Here's what it looked like...
Here's video of my first EasyStar and how the set up works.
It was an awesome start and not that expensive...
Easystar RTF & MicroWireless VideoPod, which is now out of stock, but you can get a Booster Vision "Gear Cam"...It's cheap and will keep you out of trouble when you are learning because the video will drop out before the plane leaves visual flying range. Once you're comfy flying FPV, then you can move on to the other gear.
Eventually upgraded with Futaba 6 Ch radio.
Here's video of my first EasyStar and how the set up works.
| My first Easystar |
It was an awesome start and not that expensive...
Easystar RTF & MicroWireless VideoPod, which is now out of stock, but you can get a Booster Vision "Gear Cam"...It's cheap and will keep you out of trouble when you are learning because the video will drop out before the plane leaves visual flying range. Once you're comfy flying FPV, then you can move on to the other gear.
Eventually upgraded with Futaba 6 Ch radio.
Sticky:
My Second Easystar-Less is More
Here's the set-up that I flew with for nearly a year. I learned and got proficeint FPV. with it. It was an excellent starter set-up. You can see how it evolved over time. Also proves the versatility of the EasyStar w/ a humble Stock Motor.
I decided to go simple and light...
I don't claim that this is the best set-up...All I'm saying is that this is it worked really well for me.
Airplane: EZ*
Motor: Stock Speed 400
Esc: Stock Multiplex 8 Amp ESC
Flight Battery: 1800 or 2300 mAH 2 Cell LiPo from Micro Wireless
Rx: Electron 6 from Hobby Lobby
Flight Control Radio: Futaba 6EXAS from Tower Hobbies
Altimeter: Zlog Altimeter
LiPo Shield from Dimension Eng.
LiPo Saver
Position Lights for night flying.
Notes: The Rx is located in the cavity just under the motor. I installed it using by cutting a "keyed" section in the belly of the aircraft as others have done to separate it from the video Tx. The rudder is enlarged. An APC 6 X 4 Propeller is installed. I fly it for around 20-25 minutes per pack, though 40 minute flights are not uncommon. Lipo Shield provides low voltage cut-off protection. LiPo Saver provides visual cue that the battery volatage is below 6V.
Channel Assignment:
1 - Rudder
2 - Elevator
3 - Throttle
4 - Pan
6 - Tilt
Airborne Video:
Camera: KX-131 from Range Video
Tx: 500 mW 2.4 GHz from Range Video
Battery Pack: Homemade with 4 AAA 900 mAH NiMH Eveready Batteries
Pan & Tilt Set-up.
Notes:
1. The entire assembly is built on a foam board "raft". It is attached to the airframe with velcro. It can easily be removed simply by disconnecting the pan servo from the servo extension.
2. If I were to start over, I'd buy the 200mW Combo from MicroWireless.
Portable "Base Station"
Goggles from Range Video
Rx from Micro Wireless
Homemade Battery Pack
AIPTEK Camera/DVR
Carry Box
I decided to go simple and light...
I don't claim that this is the best set-up...All I'm saying is that this is it worked really well for me.
Airplane: EZ*
Motor: Stock Speed 400
Esc: Stock Multiplex 8 Amp ESC
Flight Battery: 1800 or 2300 mAH 2 Cell LiPo from Micro Wireless
Rx: Electron 6 from Hobby Lobby
Flight Control Radio: Futaba 6EXAS from Tower Hobbies
Altimeter: Zlog Altimeter
LiPo Shield from Dimension Eng.
LiPo Saver
Position Lights for night flying.
Notes: The Rx is located in the cavity just under the motor. I installed it using by cutting a "keyed" section in the belly of the aircraft as others have done to separate it from the video Tx. The rudder is enlarged. An APC 6 X 4 Propeller is installed. I fly it for around 20-25 minutes per pack, though 40 minute flights are not uncommon. Lipo Shield provides low voltage cut-off protection. LiPo Saver provides visual cue that the battery volatage is below 6V.
Channel Assignment:
1 - Rudder
2 - Elevator
3 - Throttle
4 - Pan
6 - Tilt
Airborne Video:
Camera: KX-131 from Range Video
Tx: 500 mW 2.4 GHz from Range Video
Battery Pack: Homemade with 4 AAA 900 mAH NiMH Eveready Batteries
Pan & Tilt Set-up.
Notes:
1. The entire assembly is built on a foam board "raft". It is attached to the airframe with velcro. It can easily be removed simply by disconnecting the pan servo from the servo extension.
2. If I were to start over, I'd buy the 200mW Combo from MicroWireless.
Portable "Base Station"
Goggles from Range Video
Rx from Micro Wireless
Homemade Battery Pack
AIPTEK Camera/DVR
Carry Box
| My FPV Set-up (3 min 47 sec) |
