Thats exactly what i was thinking. THere so called better version seems to be not working well. I notice in your video that your using go pro feed. But what was your live feed like? to get live feed range up to 10km that isnt bad at all!
could you asses the sucess of this system http://www.rangevideo.com/index.php?...roducts_id=285
providing that i get a patch antenna..how do you think it will go?
Cameras systems is the hardest thing to choose coming to this stuff

Originally Posted by Coyote64

I watched too many scary problem video`s with the Dare. I use the original Chainlink still, works great. If they sorted out the Dare issues then go for it

Originally Posted by UncleMatt

Thats a nice alternative. I am still seeking some guidance on the appropriate motor and prop combination that would be best suited for flying the X8 up to 13K. Of course, I will be on the ground not much lower than that. I would like to get a scorpion motor, but lack the experience so many of you have.

I have also seen mention of using a variable pitch prop in this thread, but haven't seen anyone pull that off with the X8 yet. It would be nice to have that feature at high altitude. Anyone working on that or have video/photos already in hand?

Originally Posted by UncleMatt

My quick questions never seem to get answered... :-D

Originally Posted by Coyote64

What was your quick question ?

That's probably because nobody knows for sure. I've flown mine up to 7000 feet but 13,000 feet is a whole other world. Any answers would be purely a guess and unproven. I'm guessing you'd need a large diameter prop with high pitch, driven by a big, low kv motor for the thin air.
Variable pitch props are still fairly new and you wouldn't really want a non-folding prop for a belly lander anyway.

Originally Posted by 7536jake

Thats exactly what i was thinking. THere so called better version seems to be not working well. I notice in your video that your using go pro feed. But what was your live feed like? to get live feed range up to 10km that isnt bad at all!
could you asses the sucess of this system http://www.rangevideo.com/index.php?...roducts_id=285
providing that i get a patch antenna..how do you think it will go?
Cameras systems is the hardest thing to choose coming to this stuff

The smaller picture in the 10km flight was from the live link from the WDR650 on board, no live Gopro link that was recorded. The problem with the "live" picture was it wasn`t. My JapanDVR didnt record properly but I was broadcasting live on the internet so downloaded the upload to put in the video.

Here was my 5km flight, but this time on 5.8Ghz video. The live WDR650 feed is the actual feed in this video, its positioned behind the Gopro which you can see the back of when pointing straight ahead

X8 5.2km (11 min 27 sec)

sorry
there was a mistake i am using a 12x6
which one do you advice??
a 60 or a 80 amp esc??

thanks

Originally Posted by Coyote64

I use a 60 amp Plush, with your motor the datasheet only goes up to 12x6 on 4S pulling 60 amps. You might be pushing the Scorpion too hard with a 13x6

http://www.scorpionsystem.com/files/...data_chart.htm

80 Amp Plush mate, 60 will be too close, 80 will be fine

I`d always say Plush just because they are really low on the noise front for Fpv systems

oh ok so would you suggest i go with a 5.8 setup. Can you link me your setup?

Originally Posted by Coyote64

The smaller picture in the 10km flight was from the live link from the WDR650 on board, no live Gopro link that was recorded. The problem with the "live" picture was it wasn`t. My JapanDVR didnt record properly but I was broadcasting live on the internet so downloaded the upload to put in the video.

Here was my 5km flight, but this time on 5.8Ghz video. The live WDR650 feed is the actual feed in this video, its positioned behind the Gopro which you can see the back of when pointing straight ahead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cki1MIhF90s

Go with whatever you want really. spending on your RC Control frequency etc

I always use 2.4Ghz for long flights, in the UK I cant get past 5km with 5.8Ghz ( Airwave based units ) so I use that for close range flights. I use Immersion exclusively but no transmitters are in stock anywhere until the nextwave new versions are released. Then the 5.8 range should be a lot further over here.

We are going a bit off topic though for an X8 thread, pm me if you want though

Originally Posted by Coyote64

80 Amp Plush mate, 60 will be too close, 80 will be fine

I`d always say Plush just because they are really low on the noise front for Fpv systems

thanks
plush and flyfun are the same i think... or not?
what do you think?

just for closing the off topic
i think that 2.4ghz is the best!
i tried everything with great stuff (patch, helical, yagi...)... but i think that with circular wireless helical and spw antennas there are no better way to see a great image on the lcd...

Originally Posted by Coyote64

Go with whatever you want really. spending on your RC Control frequency etc

I always use 2.4Ghz for long flights, in the UK I cant get past 5km with 5.8Ghz ( Airwave based units ) so I use that for close range flights. I use Immersion exclusively but no transmitters are in stock anywhere until the nextwave new versions are released. Then the 5.8 range should be a lot further over here.

We are going a bit off topic though for an X8 thread, pm me if you want though

Originally Posted by xviper

That's probably because nobody knows for sure. I've flown mine up to 7000 feet but 13,000 feet is a whole other world. Any answers would be purely a guess and unproven. I'm guessing you'd need a large diameter prop with high pitch, driven by a big, low kv motor for the thin air.
Variable pitch props are still fairly new and you wouldn't really want a non-folding prop for a belly lander anyway.

That was my assessment as well, and I thank you for the response, I was beginning to wonder what the deal was. And I know there are other flyers here who are flying at very high altitudes, but its curious they didn't respond to my question.

Do you have a specific scorpion motor you might suggest?

Originally Posted by Coyote64

Always with the wings on, or its not its true CoG especially because the wings are rear of the CoG

So what I'm doing is actually right. It's just that the front area of the fuselage tends to be crowded.

Thanks!

Yeah it normally required a fair bit of weight towards the front to get the CG at 44 - 45cm

Hi.
It's being a while since my last post here but i was very busy.
My X8 is alive and made its first experimental trip.
It has over 40km range (80km round trip) it is completely autonomous
and PC joystick operated if needed.
It can do many things like lock a target take video or pictures with zoom etc.
The landing gear is not for landing or take off but to protect the camera
(Canon SX230HS with GPS and optical stabilization) during parachute recovery but i guess you can land and take off from a runway if needed.
Usually i throw it by hand.
The camera of course can pan 360 degrees and tilt more than 90.
The wings are held with Multiplex wing locks.
The front wheel is retractable to the front in order to move out of the way of the camera during flight.
AUW is 4900g with a 10Ah 8S pack (my little secret) and i admit that it is easier to hand throw than i expected, X8 is such a good airplane....
The huge motor with gearbox is not for power but for efficiency.
It took me a lot of time to write the flying and other software and construct some custom hardware like an I2C 8 additional servo controller but it was worth it.
Chris

Please do tell your motor prop setup for the 40km theoretical range

Please do tell your motor prop setup for the 40km theoretical range

Hi.
It is not theoritical it has flown that far with other video and modem setups
(not visible here) and i do have many other airplanes that have gone at least 30km out
multiple times, the thing is that the X8 is more efficient hence lower battery weight which is the dominant AUW factor.
It is not a secret i have wrote about it before, it is a Kontronik Tango 45-06
with a 2.5:1 gearbox at 8 cells.
SORRY i forgot to say that the propeller is a Graupner 13x8 or a Aeronaut 12x8 or 13x8 (depends)
The propeller visible is a HobbyKing carbon 13x8 for testing it's efficiency, something
that has not been done yet.
Of course when i fly i issue a NOTAM