So I finally experienced what FPV can really be! with a 45 min flight I got to watch the sun set on my town.

Launched at 5:30pm
Watched the sun set and the lights slowly turn on across the city. Neighborhood lights changing and christmas lights coming on.
Flew around for 20 minutes in the dark and had a great approach from .5 miles out at 600ft. deployed flaps at 200ft bringing air speed down to 10 mph for landing. started to overshoot the landing so I had to circle and gently place it almost at my feet! (and yes I have video of this )

Max distance: 1.2 miles
Max Altitude: 2500ft
Flight time: 45 min
mAh used: 4583

Only reason I landed was because I didnt want to risk a deadstick at night...

Chris

Originally Posted by chanyote66

So I finally experienced what FPV can really be! with a 45 min flight I got to watch the sun set on my town.

Launched at 5:30pm
Watched the sun set and the lights slowly turn on across the city. Neighborhood lights changing and christmas lights coming on.
Flew around for 20 minutes in the dark and had a great approach from .5 miles out at 600ft. deployed flaps at 200ft bringing air speed down to 10 mph for landing. started to overshoot the landing so I had to circle and gently place it almost at my feet! (and yes I have video of this )

Max distance: 1.2 miles
Max Altitude: 2500ft
Flight time: 45 min
mAh used: 4583

Only reason I landed was because I didnt want to risk a deadstick at night...

Chris

Sweet! All four attributes beat anything i've done yet so i look forward to getting my super sky surfer =)

you will love it! I cant wait to get my pantilt working (need servos) and my HD cams mounted... Right now I just taped it to the wing root...

Chris

Originally Posted by chanyote66

you will love it! I cant wait to get my pantilt working (need servos) and my HD cams mounted... Right now I just taped it to the wing root...

Chris

i'm actually going to fix the camera at first when i get the new plane, i'll worry about pan tilt later on when i get my head tracking figured out, i find it too distracting to reach up for the aux3 knob =)

Originally Posted by polix

i'm actually going to fix the camera at first when i get the new plane, i'll worry about pan tilt later on when i get my head tracking figured out, i find it too distracting to reach up for the aux3 knob =)

Ya, My pan tilt broke before I got to fly... Glued it in place I am going to use a POT as my throttle now and P/T with my left stick... I have only used rudder to mess around...

Chris

Originally Posted by fastfwd

This thing will climb in a very light wind when going into it, i always have to give down elevator to keep from climbing ,even under no power, I think it is due to the extremely wide wings And on landing i also have to give it down to get it to land even with flaps down, it will glide forever !

On mine I found that moving the C.G. forward a little, reduced this tendency. But it still landed pretty long. YMMV.

Also, with a forward C.G. (95mm behind the leading edge or less) hand launches got a little more exciting. The plane would tend to nose down when launched (though not during normal flight), and would need some quick up-elevator to keep a launch from turning into a landing.

Originally Posted by Little-Acorn

On mine I found that moving the C.G. forward a little, reduced this tendency. But it still landed pretty long. YMMV.

Also, with a forward C.G. (95mm behind the leading edge or less) hand launches got a little more exciting. The plane would tend to nose down when launched (though not during normal flight), and would need some quick up-elevator to keep a launch from turning into a landing.

Yup... agree with you there... I have CG at 95mm from LE and hand launch only... Without a strong throw, its not going to take off...

I launch with flaps and 50% throttle and it will dip a tiny bit but then it starts to climb... I dont really need up ele until im ready to climb out of my field.

Chris

well... heres the video of my 45 min flight on 4500mah (landed early, I didnt want to land at night Dead stick)

SSS FPV - Sunset over Oak ridge (9 min 15 sec)

Originally Posted by Little-Acorn

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...6#post22886340

The ones lots of people have suggested include (but not limited to):

1.) Rudder and Elevator pushrods are too skinny. Instructions say you should slip some plastic tubes (included with the plane) over them where they come out of the fuselage near the tail, that sounds sort of mickeymouse. A number of people have replaced them with thicker wires, around .045" or thicker. Others have grafted 2-56 or 4-40 threaded rods onto the originals where they come out of the fuse near the tail, around 5" long, and put Kwik-links on them to attach to controls.

2.) The ESC that comes with the plane is marginal at best. It apparently has a linear BEC that heats up easily, and may not be able to handle the six servos the plane has. Some people report strange motor cutouts, even when they are not flying at high power settings, might be due to this. Not a bad idea to replace it with an ESC that has a switching-mode BEC, those run a lot cooler and are more efficient. Or possibly a completely separate BEC.

3.) Some of the propellers that came with the SSS, have been found to be mis-formed. Instead of the blades being 180 degrees apart, some have been more like 178 degrees or so. Very odd, and they won't ever stop vibrating. An APC 8x6E is one example of a good replacement.

4.) The original battery is a 3s LiPo, which gives OK but not spectacular performance. Some have replaced it with a 4s battery, which performs noticeably better with the original stock motor. If you do this, it's even more important to replace the ESC too.

5.) The main spar brace is a fiberglass rod that is very strong, but weighs a ton. Some folks have replaced it with carbon-fiber tubes that are like 1/4 as heavy but still very strong.

6.) A few people have reported that, in a steep dive, the SSS's ailerons no longer respond; though elevator is fine. After you pull out and slow down, everything works fine. It's not clear why yet - maybe the aileron servos aren't powerful enough, or maybe the wings twist slightly under heavier air loads, or maybe other causes.

7.) Some folks have put in more powerful motors, and gotten great performance as a result. This usually requires a higher-amperage ESC, and possibly a different battery. Some of these motors bolt right in and are a direct replacement with little effort needed. Others are larger diameter and need the plane's motor pod hollowed out, and sometimes the motor mount modified. Keep in mind that the SSS is a powered glider, not a racer or a stunt plane. Fast, steep climbs can be fun, and even useful at times. But if you want super aerobatics or high speeds, you're probably flying the wrong plane.
Bolt-in, 655W, steep climbs: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=18226
Needs engine mount mods, 1000W, vertical climbs: http://www.headsuprc.com/servlet/the...ushless/Detail
Lots of other motors, from many sources, are good too.

8.) Cameras, gyros for stability (especially with a camera), two-wheeled landing gear, LED lights and strobes, you name it, it's probably been tried. And if it hasn't, what are you waiting for. The sky's the limit.

9.) When you modify your plane, check the Center of Gravity (G.G., or balance point). The instructions specify a location 100mm behind the leading edge of the wing. Most people seem to get good results if it's from 90-odd mm to 100 mm. I've flown mine with anywhere from 93mm - 100mm with good results.

I've also flown it with C.G. more than 100mm behind the leading edge, but the plane was tricky to handle and stalled a lot, which I consider unacceptable. Your results may vary, of course. But the SSS seems to be VERY sensitive to C.G. location.

Anybody have other mods to suggest? Lots of things are possible with this plane.

Originally Posted by chanyote66

well... heres the video of my 45 min flight on 4500mah (landed early, I didnt want to land at night Dead stick)

sweet video!

Hi,

maybe someone could post a good setup for the flaps. How many mm down are useful ?
Are there good results for a brake setup (mm up) ?

Originally Posted by kaptondave

I had the same thought,. I think that Little-Acorn has visions of becoming known as the SSS Guru so is salting the thread.

Loks to me like he IS the SSS guru...

Originally Posted by Airpac

Hi,

maybe someone could post a good setup for the flaps. How many mm down are useful ?
Are there good results for a brake setup (mm up) ?

Not sure if it is the servos or what, but i can only get like 50% down flaps before the servos do the nasty binding noise,last thing you want is a binding servo as it will heat up esc and can fry it in flight

Originally Posted by fastfwd

Not sure if it is the servos or what, but i can only get like 50% down flaps before the servos do the nasty binding noise,last thing you want is a binding servo as it will heat up esc and can fry it in flight

yup... same here

I set my flaps to 40% so that i have a little wiggle room before they are maxed.

You could adjust the flaps to be neutral at full "up" and then get a full 100% throw down but you will want to be careful about stressing the hinge that much.

Chris

If you work your hinges good it shouldn't be too bad, my flaps start to chatter at about 95% deflection, so I keep them there hehe.