Originally Posted by patrickegan

Nihil,

You won’t be sorry they rock. You can comfortable fly just as well at night as during the day. I went for a scale look but you would be better off to have the light’s shine on the plane some. P.

Already thought about trying to impregnate the wing panels with fiber optics to get the whole thing to glow, but I think that would be too much weight and too much work for too little a result.

I saw some thin plastic credit card sized fresnell type lenses at the drug store the other day, I was thinking about cutting openings to match them, and mounting the LEDs inside the wing to shine through. It shouldnt add much weight, and would make the plane itself a lot more visible by diffusing the light quite a bit without blocking it. It would also allow for one LED to light the top of the wing, the bottom of the wing, and the tip at the same time.

You can't see them if they are on the top

You mean you dont fly your AP plane upside down at night? Sheesh, what fun is that?

I was actually thinking about lighting the top more for safetys sake. There is a fair amount of very low air traffic (100-600ft AGL) in the area, and if I am flying at dusk or dawn I want them to know its there. There has been more than one occasion where I had to chase a news chopper or traffic spotting cessna out of my airspace

One day I had a visit from an apache and a huey while flying my 20" 100mph combat wing. The apache split off from his group and headed for the park where I was flying, had a bit of a look, and left. Shortly after that, a huey gave me a low slow flyby close enough that I could feel the blade thump very clearly in my chest. On both passes the helis were low enough that the tops of the trees behind me were being blown around by the rotor wash.

The presence of full size air traffic around here is one of the reasons I wanted to go with a "correct" FAA lighting scheme. It will be familiar to certified pilots and they will be able to determine my course/orientation so we can better stay out of each others way. Sometimes I would swear that they they head for that park just to watch, and dont stop to think that their big clunky airboats are getting in my way The funny part is, I am not very close to any airports or military bases (30-50mi).

Okay, this is an official RCAPA safety contact. Muttley sez don’t be a “Dick Dastardly” and always be sure to give right away to piloted aircraft.

Hah, I was kidding about the "chase them away" part. I always give them right of way, even if they are annoying at times

Realistic flight markers could also give a good scare to full size aircraft pilots, maybe its better to have blinking red all over it?

Originally Posted by Hovertime

Realistic flight markers could also give a good scare to full size aircraft pilots, maybe its better to have blinking red all over it?

That'll take it from "broken altimeter?" to "UFO?!!?!?"

I thought about that when I ordered the lights last night, and figured if I were a full scale pilot, I would want familiar markings on anything else that is occupying close airspace. The hard part will be gluing LEDs to all those birds...

Good news Matt just joined RCAPA

Well red blinking is a marker for antennas etc. I would surely panic , and probably bank too much(close to the ground-spin- crash) when I see an "airplane" going right at me, closing fast!

Originally Posted by patrickegan

Good news Matt just joined RCAPA

Sweet.

Originally Posted by Hovertime

Well red blinking is a marker for antennas etc. I would surely panic , and probably bank too much(close to the ground-spin- crash) when I see an "airplane" going right at me, closing fast!

I would panic even more if I saw an "antenna" going right at me, closing fast. Arent stationary objects supposed to be red solid/strobe (with white strobe above xxx number of ft), and the red/green scheme with strobes for aircraft?

LOL

Try some Glowwire too.

http://www.glowire.com/

Matt

Originally Posted by RCFEVER

Try some Glowwire too.

http://www.glowire.com/

Matt

I have some of that stuff, its neat. Been thinking about sticking it on the shogun for a night flight

May add to the "UFO" effect though!

Originally Posted by nihil

The piece you see above is 0.020", and the camera/battery pod will be made out of either 0.032", 0.055", or a combination of both. Compartment doors for electronics and linkage access will probably be made out of 0.013" sheet.

I have decided to add an uppercut to the lower leading edge of the airfoil to help it penetrate the wind better. I will also be covering the wings in some sort of film covering to make it nice and slippery. I am thinking red and yellow bands around the wings and tail (one color per side), with it fully covered in a clear to let the grey depron show through.

I have even given thought to adding ultrabright LED running lights before I glue the skins on, using the magnets as contact points so there arent any plugs to deal with when disassembling.

Well, you see, I live in Brazil, and Carbon Fiber is not common , at this side of planet, can you inform where and how to buy this Carbon Fiber sheet.

Tks

Cebola
Brazil