Sounds good Ryan. That's actually where I was going to practice, well 5 mile pass, but close enough.

Thanks all for your help, I really appreciate it

I did the same as Ryan. I went with the same 5.8 system that he links above. Funny enough, I also have he same monitor from RMRC. I put this equipment on a quad until I got comfortable. I then made the jump to the Dragonlink system for my wing.

Ryan/ I would lie to come and fly with you. Let me know when you go out next. I just finished a new wing project and need a good place to take it for a spin.

Can I be a 3rd wheel and come check out you guys flying fpv when you go out? :thumbup:

I've thought about flying out there at 5 mile pass as well, I usually go bounce around out there on the dirt roads with the fam. But last trip, as for just about everywhere I go now I see things in terms of how it would look from a FPV point of view!! Yup...I think its safe to say I've been bitten by the bug.

Yeah definitely, David and Demon you guys should head out, as well as anyone else. Its a good spot to do testing, lately the weather has been pretty calm and aside from a few small trees scattered around the field its wide open. Its right there between the Ranches and City Center. I'll attach a map.

I work nights, and I'm off after Wed night. So the rest of the week and weekend is open, weather permitting.

Thanks for the map Ryan. I'm going to check it out this week. I'm really anxious to get this new wing in the air!

Here's a few pics of my blunt nose swift II.

That little swift should be a blast! Do you have any way to record on-board video with it, or is it just for flying?

McGregor, Randy, and I went flying up around Timp yesterday and had a good time, gorgeous colors up in the mountains right now. Left at 8 a.m., got home around 8 p.m. It wasn't a perfect day for flying because it was so windy, but it was perfect day to hang out with the guys in the mountains regardless.

Here are a few screen shots. We got our first real chance to do "cloud surfing", and it was fantastic! McG had to head home right as sunset hit, so I went up solo for one of the prettiest sunsets I've seen in the air, and got to fly through some scud clouds back-lit by the sun. Wow! It was like flying through a nebula!

Good times.

That's a pretty sweet little Swift for sure!! Looks like it would be alot of fun to fly. I have a trimmed down CTH Titan that I would love to throw some FPV gear on, however, it was what I learned to fly wings with, so I'm not sure its up to the task of carrying around anything more than its own weight! lol... we'll see. I really enjoy flying wings, and I really can't wait until I can get a wing specific for FPV. I keep telling myself....baby steps.

Those are some pretty amazing shots Todd! Are those just screenshots of video? I was looking up there at Timp the other day thinking I need to get up there before the snow flies, or I should say sticks. What are you flying these days?

Wow, todd. As ever, you come back with the most amazing shots! Cannot wait to see the vid!

What's your guys schedule for flying this weekend? I'm free Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning if you guys wanted to meet up in eagle mnt or 5 mile pass.

Fantastic pictures! Off the charts good. I've never flown in the clouds but it's a goal eventually. I'm going to mount a 808 #16 keychain on my swift. It's super light and takes reasonable footage. I'm trying to come up with a good way to mount it. I bought a piece of heli gyro pad and I'm thinking about mounting it on top of that with velcro.

Killer shots Todd. Great work. Cant wait to see some video!

Originally Posted by geminiryan

Those are some pretty amazing shots Todd! Are those just screenshots of video? I was looking up there at Timp the other day thinking I need to get up there before the snow flies, or I should say sticks. What are you flying these days?

Thanks.

Yeah, they're just screen grabs. The left-most image was taken from the ground overlooking AF canyon. We were standing there with our wings powered on, ground stations recording, ready to launch... and watching these incredibly turbulent clouds forming in the canyon, churning, shooting straight up, then suddenly blasting eastward into the canyon. The wind picked up dramatically and the trees started to churn and whistle. McG and I looked at each other and said "hmm, maybe not". We powered everything off and just stood there in awe for an hour watching the crazy cloud formations explode into view, rip along the cliffs, and vanish out of sight. We even saw this incredible rainbow burst into view for a short time right in front of the cliffs. I nearly tossed my plane to fly when I saw that hoping to get some vid, but then reason overcame me.

Pesky logical mind. It's never held me back like that before!

Haha.

I doubt either of us would have gotten our planes back if we'd have flown out into that scene, so we drove over to the west foothills of Timp and tried flying there. McG's plane got tossed upside down on launch, and I got off okay. They were barely manageable winds, and not much fun. I was getting tossed pretty bad.

But our sunrise and sunset flights were fantastic. McG's headplays shut down on him (dead battery) while he was up in the foothills on the first morning flight, but Randy was spotting for him and they got the plane back fine. Without a spotter, that plane would have required a good 2-3 hour hike to recover. Randy has serious eagle eyes, that guy can see a fly dancing the jig from miles away.

I'm currently flying a new Hercules pusher that I'm still trying to get tuned. I've gotta rewire some stuff before I go back out, isolate the video from main power systems because I'm getting terrible video noise.

Fortunately, the MyFlyDream antenna tracker I bought a year ago that I've never been able to get working is being replaced by the manufacturer. So hopefully in a week or two I'll have antenna tracking. I've just been aiming antennas manually since I started flying FPV. What an amateur!

I've been off-line since I slammed my Deep Reaper into a giant rock formation back in May. I'm anxious to start shooting video again.

BTW, the video I'm producing now is from that trip to southern Utah, and it opens with that crash.

Saturday's footage, what there is of it, will probably be in the following video.

Originally Posted by elCapitan

Wow, todd. As ever, you come back with the most amazing shots! Cannot wait to see the vid!

Will,

Here's an equation everybody should learn.

Right Place + Right Time + Ridiculously Risky = Radical Shots

Awesome pictures Todd! I always admire your wonderful pictures, and videos.

Curious, on your Quads, what FC are you using? Naza? I have a Wookong M based Quad which flies fabulous. No problems whatsoever. (knock on wood) have not had a crash yet. RTH and all the various features work flawless so far. I'm very impressed with it. Maybe give the Wookong a try? Kind of $pendy, but might be worth it if it solves your problems. I’m using the latest FW (5.14) If I had any complaint, it is that it doesn’t descend very fast. It will, but it waggles on the way down some if the decent rate is quick. I just come down slowly to keep it smooth.

How does the Hercules fly competed to the deep reaper? Seems the Hercules might be easier and more stable.

seearstacey,

I've got three quads fully built, and none of them fly. I don't know why. I spent 2 months trying to get any one of them to fly, and failed in all attempts. I've been using 2 NAZA flight controllers, and they worked wonderfully for several months. But each of the controllers has had 1 crash. Neither of them were bad crashes, from maybe 4 or 5 feet is all. But after those crashes, neither main quad will fly. I've replaced every component except the NAZA on both quads. So I'm starting to think that maybe the NAZA's can't take any bumping or jostling without getting screwed up. It's massively frustrating to spend thousands of dollars on vehicles that don't fly.

That's why I sort of gave up and decided to go back to flying wings instead. If I could buy a fully functional RTF quad that works flawlessly, I probably would just go that route. Sadly, nobody really makes those for those of us who want to fly FPV at a reasonable price. I can't afford an $8,000 cinestar or any of those high-end frames with high-end gear. I spent about $1,000 each on these two primary quads (an X650 and X650 clone), and it's really painful to see them sitting there in my work room mocking me. I also built a TBS discovery, and it never flew well. I got enough footage out of my first X650 to make one good video, but I still have such a bitter taste in my mouth about it that I can't bring myself to edit the video.
I can't think about it without wanting to punch something.

I'd give my left nut to get a good quad flying, but I just can't afford to pay for the high end gear, especially now that I've squandered so much on mid-ranged quads that don't work. If I had the money, or if could start over, I'd buy one really awesome high-end system... in a heart-beat. The footage I can get with a multi-rotor is mind-blowing. I got quite good at flying them before they stopped working.

demonspawn78,

I can't tell yet whether I like the Herc more than the Deep Reaper. I certainly love the longer flight times and load carrying capacity. But it's not as agile or fun to fly. So my recommendation right now would be to build one of each. DR for fun adrenaline junkie flying, and the Herc for longer range scenic flying. Once I get this Herc flying well and tuned just right, I'm finishing a ZII that I've had 75% built for months, then I'm building a Deep Reaper XL. I'm gonna try a Storm Chaser as well, just to see what it's like.