The weakest part on the plane IMHO is the horizontal stab. The rest of the plane is epp which takes a beating, and glues well with a little CA. I thought about putting the guts in something else, but to be honest I think it's a good airframe, very stable.

Both Toys R Us and K-Mart have the Hawk Eye Blue Sky on sale for 49.99. K-Mart requires a coupon, TRU does not.

Hi,
I bought the Blue Sky as well and think it's great, but it didn't seem that stable to me, especially for a video camera plane. Not complaining though, all Air Hogs are extremely light weight. I love this plane! A great deal for $60. The most stable platform I think is the delta wing Jet Set, the one with the props set in slots in the wings similar to the Blue Sky design. That airframe is what this camera and controls should be built into.
Right out of the box, Blue Sky does porpoise quite a bit, so I performed a mod I do on all my Air Hogs and was pleasantly surprised at the stability increase. Still I think the swept forward wing-tips have to go. Any modders out there start cutting into the Blue sky yet?
The videos are .avi files. What's the best way to post them on this forum?

Please post the anti-porpoising mod, that's one of the big things that's stopped me from picking this up.

I only fly mine when there's absolutely no wind, I found the wind makes it porpoise quite a bit... It's quite manageable with no wind. Not to mention smooth video.

OK, first the disclaimer: This works for my plane. I posted before and after-mod video clips to show the effect of the mod and the basis from which it achieved a change. Your results may vary, so you might want to proceed with incremental adjustments. I say this because I noticed Blue-Sky flight videos posted by a couple other people that looked as steady as mine after my mod. I do not know if those posters modded their planes or not so I assume there may be production differences from plane to plane. You may need more or less correction.
The mod basically brings the horizontal stabilizer more in-line with the plane of the main-wing chord, but not completely. I did it without making an adjustable trim surface to keep drag down.
You still need some "up" elevator for the plane to fly, just less of it than my plane had out of the box.

So here it is:

1) Remove the tail section. I carefully cut the glue line and tape using an x-acto knife.





2) Mark a trim line on the base of each vertical stabilizer from the leading edge point at the base to a spot on the trailing edge just a little bit up from the base.
I used 1/8 inch at the trailing edge.





3) Trim the base of each vertical stabilizer along the line you marked.
You will be cutting away a long thin triangle of foam allowing the horizontal stabilizer's trailing edge to sit lower when the tail is re-attached.





4) Re-attach tail piece back to the fuselage as before, but now it is attached at the tail's newly cut edges. I used tape in case further modding was needed. For mine it worked fine.

That's it! Good luck.

My plane still is touchy in wind so I want to "adjust" the swept forward wing-tips next.

Flight before mod:

Air Hogs Hawk-Eye Blue-Sky initial flight right out of the box (0 min 18 sec)

Flight after mod:

Air Hogs Hawk Eye Blue Sky after mod. (0 min 48 sec)

Originally Posted by EPPwunderkind

OK, first the disclaimer: This works for my plane. I posted before and after-mod video clips to show the effect of the mod and the basis from which it achieved a change. Your results may vary, so you might want to proceed in incremental adjustments. I say this because I noticed Blue-Sky flight videos posted by a couple other people that looked as steady as mine after my mod. I do not know if those posters modded their planes or not so I assume there may be production differences from plane to plane. You may need more or less correction.
The mod basically brings the horizontal stabilizer more in-line with the plane of the main-wing chord, but not completely. I did it without making an adjustable trim surface to keep drag down. You still need some "up" elevator for the plane to fly, just less of it than my plane had out of the box.

So here it is: (thumbnails at bottom of post)
1) Remove the tail section. I carefully cut the glue line and tape using an x-acto knife.

2) Mark a trim line on the base of each vertical stabilizer from the leading edge point at the base to a spot on the trailing edge just a little bit up from the base. I used 1/8 inch at the trailing edge.

3) Trim the base of each vertical stabilizer along the line you marked. You will be cutting away a long thin triangle of foam allowing the horizontal stabilizer's trailing edge to sit lower when the tail is re-attached.

4) Re-attach tail piece back to the fuselage as before, but now it is attached at the tail's newly cut edges. I used tape in case further modding was needed. For mine it worked fine.

That's it! Good luck.

My plane still is touchy in wind so I want to "adjust" the swept forward wing-tips next.

Flight before mod:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGltj..._order&list=UL

Flight after mod:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EefAG..._order&list=UL

Hmmm mine flies more like the first video.... But sometimes it's more smooth like the second, but not that smooth. I think I'm sold on this mod.

has anyone hacked the camera in any way yet?

Just got mine today...can't wait for spring to fly it.

Originally Posted by EPPwunderkind

OK, first the disclaimer: This works for my plane. I posted before and after-mod video clips to show the effect of the mod and the basis from which it achieved a change. Your results may vary, so you might want to proceed with incremental adjustments. I say this because I noticed Blue-Sky flight videos posted by a couple other people that looked as steady as mine after my mod. I do not know if those posters modded their planes or not so I assume there may be production differences from plane to plane. You may need more or less correction.
The mod basically brings the horizontal stabilizer more in-line with the plane of the main-wing chord, but not completely. I did it without making an adjustable trim surface to keep drag down.
You still need some "up" elevator for the plane to fly, just less of it than my plane had out of the box.

So here it is:

1) Remove the tail section. I carefully cut the glue line and tape using an x-acto knife.





2) Mark a trim line on the base of each vertical stabilizer from the leading edge point at the base to a spot on the trailing edge just a little bit up from the base.
I used 1/8 inch at the trailing edge.





3) Trim the base of each vertical stabilizer along the line you marked.
You will be cutting away a long thin triangle of foam allowing the horizontal stabilizer's trailing edge to sit lower when the tail is re-attached.





4) Re-attach tail piece back to the fuselage as before, but now it is attached at the tail's newly cut edges. I used tape in case further modding was needed. For mine it worked fine.

That's it! Good luck.

My plane still is touchy in wind so I want to "adjust" the swept forward wing-tips next.

Flight before mod:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGltj..._order&list=UL

Flight after mod:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EefAG..._order&list=UL

Wouldn't it be easier to fit a piece of balsa wood on the tail with a slight down angle, instead of tearing the tail apart? Be like making a mini speed brake.

Originally Posted by Jake8131

Just got mine today...can't wait for spring to fly it.

I could have traded you mine, for your helix 360! I shoulda mentioned it, I forgot about it! I only used it a few times.

Cheers!

Jdog

Originally Posted by jdog83

I could have traded you mine, for your helix 360! I shoulda mentioned it, I forgot about it! I only used it a few times.

Cheers!

Jdog

Darn!

I finally got to try my Hawkeye in light enough wind, mine definitely has a range problem.
I guess I am going to email or call Air Hogs, (once I can be calm) to see what they say about it.
I am a lot dissapointed in these guys, because as I stated in another post, They have been releasing cool planes, some really nice designs, that after the radio re-design/downgrade, well, just plain suck! if you get a bad one and most are bad simply because of lack of range...
I like how the Blue Sky box states "100' range" then "Ultimate reception", ok. then it states "Extreme Range" "2.4ghz gives you uncompromised range, signal and responsiveness for unmatched performance".
O.K. being realistic I know this is a toy grade, well toy (mine does not get the 100' and that is all I want for now) but, I cannot wait to see the blow out sales for like $15.00 so I can take them all apart and steal the cameras and batteries for other projects.
Oh, if I ever get time for other projects...lol
Petey...

Originally Posted by Machy2k

I finally got to try my Hawkeye in light enough wind, mine definitely has a range problem.
I guess I am going to email or call Air Hogs, (once I can be calm) to see what they say about it.
I am a lot dissapointed in these guys, because as I stated in another post, They have been releasing cool planes, some really nice designs, that after the radio re-design/downgrade, well, just plain suck! if you get a bad one and most are bad simply because of lack of range...
I like how the Blue Sky box states "100' range" then "Ultimate reception", ok. then it states "Extreme Range" "2.4ghz gives you uncompromised range, signal and responsiveness for unmatched performance".
O.K. being realistic I know this is a toy grade, well toy (mine does not get the 100' and that is all I want for now) but, I cannot wait to see the blow out sales for like $15.00 so I can take them all apart and steal the cameras and batteries for other projects.
Oh, if I ever get time for other projects...lol
Petey...

What exactly is wrong???? Fresh batteries in the tx...I only use Duracels.

Originally Posted by Jake8131

What exactly is wrong???? Fresh batteries in the tx...I only use Duracels.

Hi Jake; Yesterday was battery testing and replacing day, when me and my friend went out, I installed fresh Duracells, I did not fly yesterday, but this morning (Merry Christmas) and it gets like 60' up and 75' away and loses signal, but at times it seems closer than that.
Maybe I have to experiment more, it has been windy, but i want my 300' back baby...
Petey...