Hobbypeople / Phase 3 F-16 for FPV

dankers · Jan 14, 2009, 10:09 AM

I've been flying FPV for a while now and have tried quite a few aircraft. For people that don't know, flying FPV involves putting a wireless video TX and a camera on the aircraft, then you feed this video signal in to a pair of video goggles; basically what you end doing is flying the plane from the cockpit and it is simply awesome.

I have a couple of Hobby People F-16s, as most people know, these are great aircraft, easy to setup, fast and if built right, it is a very precise aircraft to fly.

Looking for something different this weekend and having not flown a F-16 for a while, I thought I'd put FPV gear on my less extreme one and had a great time with it. 105Mph at 5 feet off the deck flying through video goggles is just amazing. Towards the end of the day, me and the guys were talking about flying through tight spots and we saw a tiny little track at the opposite side of field. After quick look over it and after judging it was almost f-16 width, I thought I'd give it a go.

This video is what happened next.........

Mind the Gap Video

turbonut · Jan 14, 2009, 10:49 AM

Now that looks fun!..What vid system are you using?
Scott

Steph280 · Jan 14, 2009, 11:25 AM

That looked a lot lower through the external cam. Great flying!

SmoothCruizer2 · Jan 14, 2009, 12:24 PM

LOL that was freakin awesome lol i laughed with tears haha NICE!!!! that reminds me of my wing dragon stunt / soccer goal pylon manuvers i do during soccer season

kool

SteveC68 · Jan 14, 2009, 01:27 PM

That was awesome!

handyflyer · Jan 14, 2009, 04:07 PM

Dude you're nuts!! I don't have the kahones to do that.

dankers · Jan 14, 2009, 09:51 PM

Thank you guys, glad you liked it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steph280

That looked a lot lower through the external cam. Great flying!

The on board camera tends to make things look slightly further away, I think at most I was only 3ft off the ground when going through the gap but it looks higher from the on board video.

Scott, on the F-16 I was using a 300mw 1.3Ghz TX and a modified kx-171 camera, these were powered from the flight pack but as it was 4S I used a voltage regulator to hold the video circuit at 13V.

FlyJumper · Jan 14, 2009, 10:01 PM

That camera/view is sweet! That's pretty crazy to go through a gap like that!

darmar · Jan 14, 2009, 10:35 PM

Great video dankers

Steph280 · Jan 14, 2009, 10:38 PM

Do you actually fly completely FPV, including landing? That must take some serious skills!

Sammy70 · Jan 14, 2009, 10:58 PM

AWESOME!!!!

Question: are the images that you see in the goggles the exact same as what we see in the video? Maybe a larger field of vision in the goggles?

Thanks for posting!!

dankers · Jan 15, 2009, 03:36 AM

Steph, everything is flown FPV, take off, landing and the whole flight. It is not that hard once you get used to it, also there is no possible way I could make it through that gap non-FPV, so honestly it takes less skills to fly FPV as left is always left and right is always right.

But, one thing that is real hard is something both of us love and that is helicopters, that is much easier Non-FPV as you get a full view of what the heli is doing. I find heli FPV flying very very difficult unless I fly it around fast like a plane, hovering and being accurate is really hard with just the limited forward view.

Sammy, you are correct, the view via the goggles is bigger. I use the Fatshark goggles that are designed for FPV and they have a nice large Field of View, basically all your forward vision is seeing the image and only a small part of your peripheral vision isn't, it is very immersive.

toughitaliankid · Jan 15, 2009, 08:57 AM

Isn't camera operated use of an RC vehicle in violation of AMA regulations and insurance coverage?* Thats if you fly by their book. I have done that with 9v operated spy cams hooked to my electric cars....zipped around the house while watching on a TV in another room. never had the stones to get the whole goggle set up for an aircraft.

dankers · Jan 15, 2009, 09:05 AM

I think there are some rules about it, that's what clubs are good at. Luckily I don't fly FPV at a club but with a tight group of friends who are cool about it. Australia is a bit different to the AMA rules for somethings, not sure they are actually as liberal with FPV. However I am also building a UAV and in Australia the UAV rules are awesome, in the US they are really restrictive in comparison.

gp125racer · Jan 15, 2009, 12:29 PM

Awesome vid, thanks for sharing!

Don

Jan 14, 2009, 10:09 AM	#1
dankers PP BBQ Chef Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 1,547	Hobbypeople / Phase 3 F-16 for FPV I've been flying FPV for a while now and have tried quite a few aircraft. For people that don't know, flying FPV involves putting a wireless video TX and a camera on the aircraft, then you feed this video signal in to a pair of video goggles; basically what you end doing is flying the plane from the cockpit and it is simply awesome. I have a couple of Hobby People F-16s, as most people know, these are great aircraft, easy to setup, fast and if built right, it is a very precise aircraft to fly. Looking for something different this weekend and having not flown a F-16 for a while, I thought I'd put FPV gear on my less extreme one and had a great time with it. 105Mph at 5 feet off the deck flying through video goggles is just amazing. Towards the end of the day, me and the guys were talking about flying through tight spots and we saw a tiny little track at the opposite side of field. After quick look over it and after judging it was almost f-16 width, I thought I'd give it a go. This video is what happened next......... Mind the Gap Video

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
For Sale HobbyPeople Phase 3 F-16 100mph	mjbennett9	Aircraft - Electric - Jets (FS/W)	5	Oct 22, 2008 09:32 AM
Wanted Looking for a stock Phase 3 F-16 Fan unit	jhamm	Aircraft - Electric - Jets (FS/W)	1	Jun 30, 2008 07:03 PM
Discussion Wadded up my Phase-3 F-16. Good use for components?	Smokescreen38	Foamy EDFs	1	Jun 09, 2008 03:37 PM
Discussion Wadded up my Phase-3 F-16. Good use for components?	Smokescreen38	Foamy EDFs	1	Jun 09, 2008 03:14 PM
Discussion Best 2100 Lipo for Phase 3 f-16?	new2heli	Foamy EDFs	33	Jun 06, 2008 09:45 PM

Jan 14, 2009, 10:49 AM	#2
turbonut Airland Hobbies Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: upland CA Posts: 4,396	Now that looks fun!..What vid system are you using? Scott

Jan 14, 2009, 11:25 AM	#3
Steph280 1.21 Gigawatts! Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Irvine, CA, USA Posts: 5,513	That looked a lot lower through the external cam. Great flying!

Jan 14, 2009, 12:24 PM	#4
SmoothCruizer2 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 261	LOL that was freakin awesome lol i laughed with tears haha NICE!!!! that reminds me of my wing dragon stunt / soccer goal pylon manuvers i do during soccer season kool

Jan 14, 2009, 01:27 PM	#5
SteveC68 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: League City, Texas Posts: 1,348	That was awesome!

Jan 14, 2009, 04:07 PM	#6
handyflyer Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Round Lake, IL Posts: 343	Dude you're nuts!! I don't have the kahones to do that.

Jan 14, 2009, 10:01 PM	#8
FlyJumper Useless post aside Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: San diego, Ca. Posts: 1,356	That camera/view is sweet! That's pretty crazy to go through a gap like that!

Jan 14, 2009, 10:35 PM	#9
darmar Registered User Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 1,242	Great video dankers

Jan 14, 2009, 10:38 PM	#10
Steph280 1.21 Gigawatts! Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Irvine, CA, USA Posts: 5,513	Do you actually fly completely FPV, including landing? That must take some serious skills!

Jan 14, 2009, 10:58 PM	#11
Sammy70 IHService Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Central Ohio Posts: 1,428	AWESOME!!!! Question: are the images that you see in the goggles the exact same as what we see in the video? Maybe a larger field of vision in the goggles? Thanks for posting!!

Jan 15, 2009, 03:36 AM	#12
dankers PP BBQ Chef Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 1,547	Steph, everything is flown FPV, take off, landing and the whole flight. It is not that hard once you get used to it, also there is no possible way I could make it through that gap non-FPV, so honestly it takes less skills to fly FPV as left is always left and right is always right. But, one thing that is real hard is something both of us love and that is helicopters, that is much easier Non-FPV as you get a full view of what the heli is doing. I find heli FPV flying very very difficult unless I fly it around fast like a plane, hovering and being accurate is really hard with just the limited forward view. Sammy, you are correct, the view via the goggles is bigger. I use the Fatshark goggles that are designed for FPV and they have a nice large Field of View, basically all your forward vision is seeing the image and only a small part of your peripheral vision isn't, it is very immersive.

Jan 15, 2009, 08:57 AM	#13
toughitaliankid Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 581	Isn't camera operated use of an RC vehicle in violation of AMA regulations and insurance coverage?* Thats if you fly by their book. I have done that with 9v operated spy cams hooked to my electric cars....zipped around the house while watching on a TV in another room. never had the stones to get the whole goggle set up for an aircraft.

Jan 15, 2009, 09:05 AM	#14
dankers PP BBQ Chef Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 1,547	I think there are some rules about it, that's what clubs are good at. Luckily I don't fly FPV at a club but with a tight group of friends who are cool about it. Australia is a bit different to the AMA rules for somethings, not sure they are actually as liberal with FPV. However I am also building a UAV and in Australia the UAV rules are awesome, in the US they are really restrictive in comparison.

Jan 15, 2009, 12:29 PM	#15
gp125racer Lipo abuser ... smoke on! Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 1,231	Awesome vid, thanks for sharing! Don