Originally Posted by Chico John

Yea man I'm jealous too, looks like a great place to fly. And I bet you just drive right up to it. Right Lee?

We live in the desert with lots of mountains that don't have trees to block our view. The road you see in video #6 "Power Slopen'" is a paved, well traveled road. I like to fly there in the summer. It's about 25 minutes drive from my house.

I have shot video on the same slope with my Wild Wing, Snowball, Q-Planes and Peregrine too.

Originally Posted by wim5150

Lee, been watching some of the great video. Nice work, camera seems to do a great job!

One of my hobbies is shooting and editing the videos. I hope you folks like them.

I think I can learn more about a plane by watching 30 seconds of video than I can learn by reading their instruction manual. There are a lot of planes out there that are for sale that really don't fly that well or at least don't fly the way I want to fly. Videos don't lie. I also like to see what others are doing and since I can't always be there a video is the next best way to be a part of what is going on.

For those of you who care:

I just got a new flash drive Panasonic SDR-S26 video camera. It is small and light and uses very little power. It does not have a hard drive. It puts the video on a SD card. It has optical image stabilization which uses a lens gyro rather than digital stabilization. Panasonic has optical image stabilization available on their lower end cameras while most brands only have it on the high end cameras. The S26 also has a true 70X optical zoom so I can really zoom in and make good use of the lens gyro. I like to be able to see the plane in the videos instead of just imagining it on the horizon.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_hi...ix=Panasonic+s

I wish that Panasonic (and other brands of new still and video cameras) would have a peep hole type viewer along with the screen. The old cameras all had a viewfinder along with the screen. I wear bifocals and it is at the wrong distance and angle. I can't focus well on the screen while I could focus with the peep hole type finder. I'm starting to get used to it and I have made a simple hood to help block the bright light from washing out the screen outside. I have to hold the camera at arms length for my eyes to focus on the screen.

The video the Panasonic SDR-S26 camera captures is better than the video I post. I try to keep the videos to about 4 minutes and 20 meg so so that those of you with slow computers can still watch them. I run them on a medium quality that is suggested for the small box viewing even though they can be enlarged to full screen by clicking the star by the word "Vimeo" at the bottom of the frame.

I still have a mini DVD which may have even more quality potential but my mini DVD movies were tying up too much of my hard drive on my computer and were taking too much time to download. The the new flash drives download in seconds and can be edited off of the SD card so I don't tie up computer memory until I actually make the movie. I plug into the card slot on the computer and don't have to play the movie to download it.

It was during this process I erased half of the combat video #7. I forgot that the video was not on the computer only on the SD card and I removed and erased it. I won't do that again!!!

I like the fast editing and instant music of Pinnacle Studio 11 although I have other complaints with the program. Putting a video together only takes a few minutes rather than hours so I am willing to do more of them.

Lee

Lee, I think we all benefit from your experience. Thanks.

Know what you mean about editing time and eating up hard drive space. I use Adobe which has great editing but takes time.

I agree 5150, lee is doing a great job and I know it takes alot of blood sweat and tears. I have a panasonic lumix camera 10x and love it, It takes great pictures. Keep it going lee

Lee, watched windy combat tonight. Pretty amazing one minute planes are at a near hover next they're screaming back at you!
Awesome. The prop blade through the wing is a riot.

Thanks again.

Originally Posted by klique

Lee that is a beautifull slope,must be nice to have such a cool place so close.

Ck

I do miss Utah County! I've spent many enjoyable nights with ladies at Squaw Peak! Its no comparison to the point of the mountain though...

Originally Posted by Lee

I got a request for a state side place to get the motors. Tell Ryan Lee sent you. He has flown the Assassin. He hasn't marked the motors up as much as some of the other places in the USA. The CF 2812 is at the bottom of the page.

http://www.planeinsanerc.com/index.php?PageID=12

We did some side by side runs with the Assassin Vs the Pinata. If you have watched the two fly you would thing the Pinata is faster. Apparently not true. I had no trouble staying up with Steve but he had trouble flying as slow as the Assassin could fly.

Another storm came through and the wind all but stopped us in the air. Considering the Assassin clocks in at about 70 MPH WOT you can imagine the microburst we were flying in. We both kept launching flying and landing in the storm until it started to rain because a new flyer had driven a couple of hours to see it fly. Landings were not pretty. Did I mention I like EPP foam.

Lee

Can I get a discussion going here about motors? I have an Assassin and a Pinata and have the Emax CF2821 on both planes As I learn to fly these planes I occasionally run out of altitude before I make the correct adjustment to the stick. Hence a "nose in" with enough force to rip out the plastic motor mount from the wing, I'm now using the stainless steel tape on mount. Today I had trouble with the Pinata, It wouldn't get going on the second flight, the first battery and flight went well. But the second flight with a fresh battery the motor sounded flat and preformed as predicted and just went into the ground, actually asphalt. I had read about the rear bearing needing to be lubed and placed a drop for 3-in-one oil but have done nothing else.
Is it possible that the two times that I nosed into dirt it ruined the motor or perhaps have the allen screws to tight? Or is it just bad luck and I have a bad motor? We don't have much time with powered flight and so everything right now is part of the learning curve.
I JUST LOVE FLYING THE ASSASSIN, PARTICULARLY SLOW.
Great flying plane, thanks Lee
Thanks, Chico John
And now I have to add to this and add that Kelly, my wife asked "is this normal?" My Rhino battery is swolen a battery that has only been used one or two times. I didn't notice that it was all puffed up when I installed it for the second flight and now wonder if that was the cause all along.

Originally Posted by Chico John

Can I get a discussion going here about motors?

I have an Assassin and a Pinata and have the Emax CF2821 on both planes As I learn to fly these planes I occasionally run out of altitude before I make the correct adjustment to the stick. Hence a "nose in" with enough force to rip out the plastic motor mount from the wing, I'm now using the stainless steel tape on mount.

Today I had trouble with the Pinata, It wouldn't get going on the second flight, the first battery and flight went well. But the second flight with a fresh battery the motor sounded flat and preformed as predicted and just went into the ground, actually asphalt.

I had read about the rear bearing needing to be lubed and placed a drop for 3-in-one oil but have done nothing else.

Is it possible that the two times that I nosed into dirt it ruined the motor or perhaps have the allen screws to tight? Or is it just bad luck and I have a bad motor? We don't have much time with powered flight and so everything right now is part of the learning curve.

And now I have to add to this and add that Kelly, my wife asked "is this normal?" My Rhino battery is swolen a battery that has only been used one or two times. I didn't notice that it was all puffed up when I installed it for the second flight and now wonder if that was the cause all along.

I JUST LOVE FLYING THE ASSASSIN, PARTICULARLY SLOW. Great flying plane, thanks Lee. Thanks, Chico John

We started with the Johnson 250 brushed motor then the Razor 400 brushless then the BP21 now the CF2812. I now use the CF 2812s on most of the planes I prototype because of performance, low sound level and price.

I have some planes that fly in combat that have hundreds of flights on the CF2812 and still will do vertical performance. I have had to throw several away from damage or simply burn out but I have had bad motors in most of the different motors I have tried. For their size we ask a lot from these motors.

I have damaged the rear bearing by over tightening the set screws which in most cases I replaced with longer 3mm hex head screws because they are easier to work with.

We started with NiMh cells then 2 cell lipolys with low C ratings and now the 30C 3S lipoly batteries. We have seen a lot of change.

In most cases the problems you are seeing are motor or battery damage. I have seen many new flyers that ruin their lipolys by over discharging them or improperly charging them. I have batteries that are 3 years old that still will go vertical but I have also thrown 5+ batteries away because a cell died or the whole battery got weak.

In hot weather I can feel that my batteries that have been used at high amps do feel warm and slightly puffy. This is not good for the batteries and will shorten their life. I also believe it is critically important to balance the batteries. The Chinese brands need more balancing than the TP batteries that I have also used extensively.

If your plane flies well with some of your batteries but not with others then the problem is obviously battery. Most of my motors with problems either show damage to the wiring or make odd noises.

I am open to better motor choices if any of you know of any.

The new stainless steel motor mount is great. I have seen amazing impacts that don't affect the motor mount at all. We are trying to get away from the plastic types of motor mounts in our planes.

Lee

Originally Posted by Lee

We started with the Johnson 250 brushed motor then the Razor 400 brushless then the BP21 now the CF2812. I now use the CF 2812s on most of the planes I prototype because of performance, low sound level and price.

I have some planes that fly in combat that have hundreds of flights on the CF2812 and still will do vertical performance. I have had to throw several away from damage or simply burn out but I have had bad motors in most of the different motors I have tried. For their size we ask a lot from these motors.

I have damaged the rear bearing by over tightening the set screws which in most cases I replaced with longer 3mm hex head screws because they are easier to work with.

We started with NiMh cells then 2 cell lipolys with low C ratings and now the 30C 3S lipoly batteries. We have seen a lot of change.

In most cases the problems you are seeing are motor or battery damage. I have seen many new flyers that ruin their lipolys by over discharging them or improperly charging them. I have batteries that are 3 years old that still will go vertical but I have also thrown 5+ batteries away because a cell died or the whole battery got weak.

In hot weather I can feel that my batteries that have been used at high amps do feel warm and slightly puffy. This is not good for the batteries and will shorten their life. I also believe it is critically important to balance the batteries. The Chinese brands need more balancing than the TP batteries that I have also used extensively.

If your plane flies well with some of your batteries but not with others then the problem is obviously battery. Most of my motors with problems either show damage to the wiring or make odd noises.

I am open to better motor choices if any of you know of any.

The new stainless steel motor mount is great. I have seen amazing impacts that don't affect the motor mount at all. We are trying to get away from the plastic types of motor mounts in our planes.

Lee

Thanks for the input Lee. In ramping up for powered flight we bought a EOS606i battery charger with balancing and when charging an uneven numbered (1345ma) battery I charge at the lower, 1300 rate. One of my ESC's automaticly cuts off the motor at 10V and I time out at 9 minutes on the other keeping the voltage above 10V and I wait for them to cool down before recharging. I'm going to guess for now that the battery was just a bad one and move on.
As for the motor I'm thinking that it's defective as well, I don't know how they can be made and sold so inexpensively.
Again we are just getting started and aren't playing combat or chasing others through the sky yet and so our flying is very sedate compared to what we see in your videos.
A side note on the videos. You'll never know how much they are appreciated and viewed, your time and efforts are well spent. Also on the videos, there was a video out at the sod farm of a guy with a beat up wing attempting to fly under an irrigation pipe, tape was pealing off of the plane and he was landing early, "doinking" into the pipe and generally having a good time. That is a great video and I haven't been able to locate it for some time and it deserves to be available for vewing. Just an opinion.
The motor might just be a defective unit too, I had a terrible time getting solder to flow onto the wire when tining it in preperation for a connector. It was necessary to cut back the wire in order to find good looking copper.
Anyway thanks again Lee for the feedback, two motors and battery have already been ordered. Oh and some more props too, the asphalt just tears them up when the plane doesn't lift off.
Chico John

Hey Lee, I have the same complaint about my newer camera's. I have resorted to mounting a CF tube on the camera and use that to point at the subject as long as the tip is near the subject it is in frame. takes a bit of adjusting to dial it in..

as to focus i always point the camera a a distance shot and set it to manual focus that way it never ties to hunt..

and as you know the more you zoom the shakeyer it gets so i try to not over zoom plane in 1/16th to 1/4 of the frame looks pretty good but being able to use a pole mounted to the screw mount with a 2lbs wieght on the end helps me stabalise the camera from my jitters

Your videos always look good so your doing it right for you..

Also I use Sony Video Vegus to edit after a few years of using the pinical software the sony software was a god send...

Originally Posted by PaulVi

...... Also I use Sony Video Vegus to edit after a few years of using the pinical software the sony software was a god send...

Paul I think you mean Sony Vegas Video Editing software. I have it and I LOVE it! Very professional level stuff. If you don't need the Pro version, you can save some money and get the "Studio" version. it's the best video editing software out there.

Sony Vegas Link

John

I know the video of Jeff hitting the pipe I can't see it right off I thought I knew where it was. I'll keep looking.

Late Note

I found it and a couple of others to go with it. The Pinata and the Assassin are both my designs. The Assassin is the more gentle of the two. The Pinata is the plane that breaks in half hitting the pole. This Pinata could go about 100 mph.

Paul

I have heard that some flyers leave a tripod hanging on the camera to stabilize the shakes too, same type of idea. I saw on one of the web sites a big contraption that is a physical stabilizer that looked like it would make people laugh at you when you were filming.

The biggest problem with the new camera is that it will zoom to 70x. The amount of shaking you see at even 10x is a concern but at 70X and chasing a plane it is nearly impossible without the image stabilizer. At 70X you can film and count nose hairs from 100 yards. Another problem is that most of my camera men get handed a camera they have never seen and are doing their best but it isn't easy. They complain I change directions so often there is no way to track me. One of these days I'm going to have to learn how to fly.

I have been looking for new editing software. The Pinnacle is about #7 in the top 10 reviewed on one site so I realize other programs may be better. I have used the Pinnacle for about 5 years and have upgraded it at least 2x. I have tried some other programs but so far I haven't found one as easy to cut and paste as the Pinnacle. In 80% of airplane video there is no action, focus problems or plane out of frame. When I edit with Pinnacle I can quickly cut out problems in seconds as many times as I want in the same video segment. Can the Sony Vegas do that????

More club videos:

Boys will be Boys (4 min 0 sec)

Pinata Limbo by Jeff. (4 min 0 sec)

Soccer Goal Wild Wing (6 min 23 sec)

Originally Posted by Lee

John

I know the video of Jeff hitting the pipe I can't see it right off I thought I knew where it was. I'll keep looking.

Late Note

I found it and a couple of others to go with it. The Pinata and the Assassin are both my designs. The Assassin is the more gentle of the two. The Pinata is the plane that breaks in half hitting the pole. This Pinata could go about 100 mph.

Paul

I have heard that some flyers leave a tripod hanging on the camera to stabilize the shakes too, same type of idea. I saw on one of the web sites a big contraption that is a physical stabilizer that looked like it would make people laugh at you when you were filming.

The biggest problem with the new camera is that it will zoom to 70x. The amount of shaking you see at even 10x is a concern but at 70X and chasing a plane it is nearly impossible without the image stabilizer. At 70X you can film and count nose hairs from 100 yards. Another problem is that most of my camera men get handed a camera they have never seen and are doing their best but it isn't easy. They complain I change directions so often there is no way to track me. One of these days I'm going to have to learn how to fly.

I have been looking for new editing software. The Pinnacle is about #7 in the top 10 reviewed on one site so I realize other programs may be better. I have used the Pinnacle for about 5 years and have upgraded it at least 2x. I have tried some other programs but so far I haven't found one as easy to cut and paste as the Pinnacle. In 80% of airplane video there is no action, focus problems or plane out of frame. When I edit with Pinnacle I can quickly cut out problems in seconds as many times as I want in the same video segment. Can the Sony Vegas do that????

More club videos:

http://vimeo.com/2293435

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSQvEYbC09E

http://vimeo.com/468433

Thanks for reposting the "Limbo by Jeff" video. Doink. "It's still good, I think" this video belongs out here forever.
Chico John

I'm still interested in editing software information.

http://video-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

Most of these stabilizers are so good you couldn't chase a plane with them because of it's erratic movement. Here are some camera stabilizers for you.

https://02c4947.netsolstores.com

http://steadycam.org/

https://02c4947.netsolstores.com/ind...FSMSagod0m9BAg

Gyro-stabilized camera mount (0 min 34 sec)

Steadicam Merlin Demonstration (1 min 25 sec)

I was trying to get information about the elevons Lee. I found it:

385mm span, 35mm and 60mm.

Does it proceed?

Thanks.