Originally Posted by Flypoppa

Can I answer and give my opinion of that question?
The Bixler is made from EPO which some say is more brittle than the EZ*s ELPOR.
The surface of the Bix is smooth without the molding pimples of the EZ*.
In my opinion the Bix is more floaty than the EZ*. that is why I have put flaps on it.
If you were to get one then get the basic kit if you can,as the hardware is crap.
I have had to replace all of it, as if you were to visit the Bix threads.
The wing rod is too weak and many have had it fail in flight.
Basicly the Bixler is a Sky surfer with Hobby Kings stickers on it.
It has more room in the body for FPV kit if needed.

I believe you've shared your impressions of it with me before but I am always glad to hear over again or more bits you might have overlooked before.

My EZ has been a very good girl but she's got a lot of accumulated damage. Eventually I'm going to want to replace her. I definitely like the EZ I as she is, so the only reason I'd go with something like a Bix or SS is to reduce entry cost a bit for starting over. That may be a nonissue if I have to replace a lot of components.

Rick NR417

Originally Posted by Scott_NJ

Rick, good to see you back, interesting on the gopro output, it sounds consistant with some of the other stuff I have been reading. I decided to carve out a fixed mount for the go pro in front of the canopy and will use a board camera as the FPV camera in the pod section.

If all goes well I am thinking I might be able to get this thing in the air Sunday for a maiden flight, if its not an epic fail I will even post some pics of the whole thing. :-)

Hi Scott, thank you. :-)

I definitely liked the view from my KPC-DNR700 better, but before I get too far ahead of myself I have to rule out some issues with the VRX side of things that may have contributed to the lack of video clarity in the goggles. If it turns out that indeed it is the GoPro giving me problems, then I will very likely rig up a system so that I can use the GoPro as just a recorder and the KT&C cam as my FPV cam. Besides that, who wants to give up camera pan, and that insanely good low light performance that I get from the KT&C? I also like the full screen format in the goggles better, and the better match to the OSD readout as well. I find myself actually hoping that it will turn out that the GoPro is in fact the sole source of disappointment for all those reasons and others.

I might as well just start building the tandem layout, now that I really think about it, lol.

Rick NR417

Night I think you have a defective Gopro.
If I were you I would send it to me and I'll check it out for ya.
No charge just a friend trying to help out

Welcome back, Rick, and not a moment too soon, Gene was spreading rumors that you were in some sort of holding cell at the local Game & Parks service...

Yes, the original GoPro Hero has a reputation for poor performance in darker conditions (I have one). It's especially noticeable in transitioning from a light scene to a shadowed scene. I've heard that the newer version (Hero 2) is better.

(eckace - was that a Nebraska sweatshirt you were wearing in your Radian video? I thought they were banned in Hawkeye-land? )

Originally Posted by eckace1

Night I think you have a defective Gopro.
If I were you I would send it to me and I'll check it out for ya.
No charge just a friend trying to help out

Hahahaha! Where's my Facebook style "Like" when I need it? X-D

Rick NR417

Originally Posted by NightRunner417

Hahahaha! Where's my Facebook style "Like" when I need it? X-D

Rick NR417

he was serious- he would check it out for you for a couple months to make sure all is well


Glad to see you back on- looking forward to your gopro video..

Originally Posted by Zaurak3

Welcome back, Rick, and not a moment too soon, Gene was spreading rumors that you were in some sort of holding cell at the local Game & Parks service...

Yes, the original GoPro Hero has a reputation for poor performance in darker conditions (I have one). It's especially noticeable in transitioning from a light scene to a shadowed scene. I've heard that the newer version (Hero 2) is better.

Yeah it definitely shows. In the maiden run, skies were scattered cloud cover with brilliantly clear air between large cumulus. The landscape below thus had huge patches of shadow, and when I'd fly into one, the whole scene would become very gloomy looking even though to my eyes the ambient light that day was very glaringly bright. By contrast, the sunny patches look GREAT on the GoPro... really nice. None of it looks bad, exactly, it's just that the difference between daytime sunny and daytime shaded was far too dramatic on video. Makes it look like I shot the shaded parts on toward evening, lol.

Oh and btw... night performance on the GoPro - basically there isn't any. You have to have really bright street lighting to see anything with this camera. That's one crippling blow to me with the whole FPV thing because my proper FPV camera (the KPC-DNR700) can easily handle typical suburban lighting conditions. I have NO problem flying in the dark with that thing so long as I have a little city or moon light to help it along. The GoPro is actually WORSE than the 808HD #11 for low light. Surprising, but true!

Rick NR417

Eckace1's plane is now painted and out of of the heat booth- here she is- canary yellow and Blue- with a hot pink rudder

My plane arrives and goes to paint booth tomorrow. I have to try and best his yellow bird

Originally Posted by NightRunner417

Yeah it definitely shows. In the maiden run, skies were scattered cloud cover with brilliantly clear air between large cumulus. The landscape below thus had huge patches of shadow, and when I'd fly into one, the whole scene would become very gloomy looking even though to my eyes the ambient light that day was very glaringly bright. By contrast, the sunny patches look GREAT on the GoPro... really nice. None of it looks bad, exactly, it's just that the difference between daytime sunny and daytime shaded was far too dramatic on video. Makes it look like I shot the shaded parts on toward evening, lol.

Oh and btw... night performance on the GoPro - basically there isn't any. You have to have really bright street lighting to see anything with this camera. That's one crippling blow to me with the whole FPV thing because my proper FPV camera (the KPC-DNR700) can easily handle typical suburban lighting conditions. I have NO problem flying in the dark with that thing so long as I have a little city or moon light to help it along. The GoPro is actually WORSE than the 808HD #11 for low light. Surprising, but true!

Rick NR417

Rick NR

Rick

Someone was using a miniature security camera with IR capabilities to fly FPV. It wasn't perfect but you could see enough not to hit a pole. He did come close to some high voltage overhead power lines though.

With the way IR technology is booming I am sure there will be a number of cameras that will do a good job for night flying.

I am waiting on a miniature one to be developed by a company called FLIR. They make very good IR cameras for military, police and commercial applications. They are just big and expensive.

Vince

Originally Posted by scottdearinger

Eckace1's plane is now painted and out of of the heat booth- here she is- canary yellow and Blue- with a hot pink rudder

My plane arrives and goes to paint booth tomorrow. I have to try and best his yellow bird

Attachment 4673970

Nice and bright colors. Should be easy to see.

Scott. Just don't pick a pink fuse or wings for your color scheme. Eckace1 keeps ragging on you about that being your favorite color.

Originally Posted by Eagle202

Nice and bright colors. Should be easy to see.

Scott. Just don't pick a pink fuse or wings for your color scheme. Eckace1 keeps ragging on you about that being your favorite color.

So of course there will be lots of hot pink and flourescent Green-with a hint of purple---- I am all over it..

I think I will call his plane -pee free

Originally Posted by Eagle202

Nice and bright colors. Should be easy to see.

Scott. Just don't pick a pink fuse or wings for your color scheme. Eckace1 keeps ragging on you about that being your favorite color.

To late man as he is the flamboyant type Plus he Is sponsored by A bar called Blazing Saddles.
Need I say more.

Originally Posted by eckace1

To late man as he is the flamboyant type Plus he Is sponsored by A bar called Blazing Saddles.
Need I say more.

i am renaming his plane- tweety bird, old yeller, yeller feather- the flying banana?

help me out people and name the yellow EZ-

Originally Posted by scottdearinger

Eckace1's plane is now painted and out of of the heat booth- here she is- canary yellow and Blue- with a hot pink rudder]

Looks like a good finish - what paint have you used, and what techniques (eg for surface prep)??? Be interested to hear how well it stands up to the normal rough & tumble of life (the DupliColor on my EZ drops off if you sneeze at it!).

Big Bird

Originally Posted by scottdearinger

i am renaming his plane- tweety bird, old yeller, yeller feather- the flying banana?

help me out people and name the yellow EZ-