Originally Posted by simplyfly

The range is not great, but its works well enough for what I do with it, which is demonstrate FPV in a inexpensive and approachable/non threatening way. Of course it is also great to just have in the car, for when you are waiting in the parking lot for the better half

yep, you don't have to go far to enjoy FPV, just a clear steady video. I like that Icon of yours, I supposed it flies better than the atom mini too.. no vicious dives on rudder turns. But with the ailerons, I think that's not a problem for you at all.

Originally Posted by bigmoe

maidened 2 atoms today, went home with 2 broken planes and less than 30 sec of flight time. no 1 rolled right straight out of the hand with anything more than 1/2 throttle on (4 times in a row, smashed up nose and half broken wing ), no 2 went slightly better (no roll) but nosed in very hard. after spending my morning putting them together, fixing a glued control rod (!!) and triple checking this thread and my CG, only to smash them both up, i went home with the shits.
i'll fix them up but in the meantime i think i'll stick to my clouds flys

Sorry to hear about that, that happened to me too on the maiden flight. I wasn't sure it was a loose motor or the way I hand launched it, but after I hot-glued the motor and hot-glued the wing to the fuselage, I could get it to fly straight with every hand launch. And that rudder needed lots of travel-endpoint reduction. Somewhere between 55% to 65% would stop it from diving hard during turns.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...%5FCanopy.html

I added this to my cart when I was buying batteries from Hobbyking..

For 1.70usd, you get a floater-jet canopy, it's quite big but this will fit your atom mini if you trim off the excess.

For a perfect fit, just add some curvature to it by heating with a hair dryer and then bending it by hand...stack it on your old canopy while you are bending it so that the old canopy acts as a mold for it.

Originally Posted by bigmoe

maidened 2 atoms today, went home with 2 broken planes and less than 30 sec of flight time. no 1 rolled right straight out of the hand with anything more than 1/2 throttle on (4 times in a row, smashed up nose and half broken wing ), no 2 went slightly better (no roll) but nosed in very hard. after spending my morning putting them together, fixing a glued control rod (!!) and triple checking this thread and my CG, only to smash them both up, i went home with the shits.
i'll fix them up but in the meantime i think i'll stick to my clouds flys

What happened for your no 1 are exactly the same thing that happen to my 1st maiden a month ago. I hvnt done any 2nd flight with it yet after rebuild...been fun flying my quad ladybird.

What a coincidence! The ladybird quad... I'm flying it too and neglecting my Atom

LadybirdQR 5.8ghz circular-polarized FPV (3 min 52 sec)

Well, after buying the Atom I immediately crashed it twice. For some reason the plane would tip almost immediately and barrel directly into the ground. I went home after the the nose was smashed and the tail section was cracked in half. After fixing it I found that the motor was anemic so I modded the plane.

I put a larger brushless motor in place of the original and put a 5x5 prop on it. I also enlarged the rudder. I tilted the motor upwards away from the plane and cocked it over a few degrees to the left to reduce the effect of the torquing. the plane seems to fly OK now with lots of power to climb and cut through the wind.

Here are some videos from it's flight.

HK Atom - FPV - Edmonton July 14, 2012 Part 4 (6 min 53 sec)

HK Atom FPV - Terwilligar Park Edmonton - July 8, 2012 - Part 6 (5 min 5 sec)

HK Atom - Edmonton FPV - July 14, 2012 - Part 5 (5 min 23 sec)

I use nano-tech 370 or sometime 460 mah batteries, they seem to fit well.

Originally Posted by SMackaay

Well, after buying the Atom I immediately crashed it twice. For some reason the plane would tip almost immediately and barrel directly into the ground. I went home after the the nose was smashed and the tail section was cracked in half. After fixing it I found that the motor was anemic so I modded the plane.

I put a larger brushless motor in place of the original and put a 5x5 prop on it. I also enlarged the rudder. I tilted the motor upwards away from the plane and cocked it over a few degrees to the left to reduce the effect of the torquing. the plane seems to fly OK now with lots of power to climb and cut through the wind.

Here are some videos from it's flight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxIecp3w78o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiwebvAdLXY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyyTN7lLWVQ

I use nano-tech 370 or sometime 460 mah batteries, they seem to fit well.

mind sharing some pics of your setup on your atom?...

Originally Posted by CPMBOY

mind sharing some pics of your setup on your atom?...

+1

what fpv gear do you people use ?

I have several but this one is my favorite.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1556994

Originally Posted by hoppy

I have several but this one is my favorite.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1556994

thanks, but i was actually after transmitting cameras, not passive recorders

i'll look into the other one too though, although my keycam is okay for getting a feel for what is possible

I see this is back in stock at all the warehouses. Worth getting?

Originally Posted by lovespicyfood

I see this is back in stock at all the warehouses. Worth getting?

Yes & no.
The AXN is a much better plane & not much more $ (supply your own esc & servos)
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=16568

I have the Atom. Its allways the first plane I take out of the car boot . Its alot of fun, It does fly OK. Its a really basic plane so dont expect too much.
Its also impossible to kill, all repairs are just 5 minutes with hot glue. Ive had some nasty crashes with mine (pilot error), it just keeps going.

Im converting mine to brushless, just for more power, more fun.

I would say 'Yes' to that question . My first FPV flight ended in a tall tree (video on post185) and I  ordered another atom. A week later, went back to get the plane down and it went thru another 30 flights and a dozen hard crashes until yesterday when I finally broke a wing off..at last I could fly the new Atom..

What is the motor on this glider equivalent to? I'm doing a scratch project similar to this, and I have many brushed motors laying around.

It's the same motor like those on a 4-channel coaxial Heli (esky lama / eflite bcx), runs on 2S. Its power is equivalent to a 3600kv inrunner's on 2S setup as well.