Apart from a Night Vapor and UMX Radian, I have not flown anything since my daughter was born 7 years ago. This is especially strange as I am currently in my senior year at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for Unamnned System Applications. 6 years ago, we packed up everything and moved from Colorado back to our home state of South and I sold off/gave away most of my r/c collection as it didn't fit in the truck. Was digging around this weekend and found my giant box of stuff so I pulled it all out and started to see what worked.

My FatShark Dominators are still working as well as they used to, even though they are just shy of a decade old. The VERY OLD Turnigy 6 is still hanging in there with a charger a buddy gave to me a while ago. My FrSky Taranis-E is so far out of date it's just not funny. And the Goby 180 I built still rips along like the last time I flew it. And the LiPos were solid after all this time. I was surprised, but I put all of them in storage, and they have been kept in a climate-controlled environment (AKA, in a closet).

Strapped the goggles on, flicked all the switches to remember which did what, hopped into the air, and putted the goby around for a short time. Took it out of Atti and into free flight and immediately bounced it off the ground in my yard. Started again and after a few min bounced it one more time and I stopped. The 850mAh 3s was doing well but when I pulled it off, it was puffed. It was then I realized that I had it propped for flying at 6,500' and I was currently at 600'. Guess its time to start ordering parts again.

Adam

Well, as the title says...Its been a while. Packed up and moved across the country, got a job and have kind of just relaxed into having fun on the weekends. I still have not flown anything and I need to find a place to fly that I wont get kicked out of. That seems to be the hardest part where I am at, finding a place where you can buz around without someone calling the police. But I am an outside kinda guy so got back into fishing and bought a fishing kayak. So for now they keep me busy and I get to enjoy time outside. I need to unpack my gear and find something to fly and crash.

Adam

The better half has been offered a job back in South Carolina so in a few weeks we will be moving across the country. But I have a lot of things to do to sell the house and not a lot of time to do them. So if I am not working, I will be working

Guess Ill have to start looking for a flying field or just sell off most of my planes and go straight to quads.

So I got my new fuselage in and started swapping everything from the crashed one. The longer I stared at it I realized that I had some HK 9 mode multi color LED strips laying around. So I laid everything out and started to sketch out and cut grooves for the strips. After laying them in I used reinforced 3m packing tape to maintain rigidity. The radian XL has a ton of space inside and has perfect little spots to put the controllers once you remove a little material. I swapped out the power wires on the controller for longer one and soldered them directly to the power wire from the battery. So far it works great and looks fantastic. I just ordered 2 more strips so I can run them down the fuselage and get back into night flying.

HobbyKing 9 Mode MultiColor LED strip (0 min 36 sec)

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So for christmas my wonder wife bought me a Radian XL. I was very excited to get to fly it and I miss my original radian very much. So today I decided to go flying and have a bit of fun. I got to my flying spot and it was windy, very very windy but I was going to try anyway. I started to try to fly the Fokker DR1 first. It was getting enough lift on the ground with no power that it wanted to take off without power. So I throttled up, it made it all of about 15 feet off the ground before the wind took it, the wing stalled and it hit the ground. So I tried again with the same result so I gave up and went to the radian.

So I found the problem with flying a large wingspan bird after flying small wingspan birds for so long, depth of view. I was coming in for another landing and I though I was significantly closer than I was and I ended up in the top of a tree at Holmes. The wind started to pick up and the whole bird started to lift out of the tree top so I went full throttle and as it was coming out the tail caught and proceeded to slam the radian back in and broke the whole nose off. After climbing the tree I managed to get it out and it slammed into the ground fracturing the entire fuselage all the way back to wing saddle. And to top it off I fell out of the last 10 feet of the tree. Been a hell of a day, going to drink a few beers.

Adam

So the other day I wasnt thinking and I put my Accucel-6 on top of my field battery. Wouldnt have been so bad except that it touched both battery posts and fried the dang thing. Still starts up but now it wont charge so I swapped over to my other Accucel-6 and am currently planning on how to make it a little more "Less failure prone."

I finished building the FliteTest Fokker DR1 the other day and its pretty fun build. Its not overly complicated but I did manage to burn myself only one time . Looks somewhat decent and I imagine it flies great but as for now its benched till I get some free time. Only real thing it needs is a black prop to make me happy. I plan on seeing if I can get some guns 3D printed and install some FPV gear to make it a little more fun.

Finally got around to building one of those nifty PVC Plane racks I have been looking at. I decided to use a piece of metal at the bottom for a spot to store quads. But at least now I have some more space.

The only real difference is that I used 1" PVC instead of 3/4". I have seen a few that start to bend at the top due to the weight so I bumped it to 1" Seems to be quite sturdy. I stopped at 5 planes but for the most part they are not quite heavy. Took just over 2 10' poles.

Introduction

So this little guy came with my Nano SkyHunter that I pre-ordered. At first I was a little skeptical as to how well it worked and the range but only time will tell.

Features

• Combined Camera, 25mW video transmitter, antenna
• Super small and light weight
• 5 Bands, 37 unique channels including Race Band
• Easy to install, plug and play
• Button control

Specifications:

• Transmitter power: 25mW
• Input power: 2.5 - 5V (1s battery)
• ​Actual camera resolution: 420TVL (Others claim 600TVL)
• Max illumination: 1 lux
• Field of view: 120*
• Antenna dimensions: 20 x 25mm
• ​Antenna: 3 lobe RHCP
• Size: 20 x 17mm (LxW)
• Weight: 4.5g, 10g with the AIO case and plug

Performance

First thing is first, I was impressed by the quality of the camera. I honestly wasn't expecting a great camera for the size and price but this one was a solid 8/10. The 120* FoV is huge but matches the Nano Skyhunter perfectly. It handles the sun perfectly, no washout or dark spots.

The Video Transmitter is great function wise. The ability to use a button and physically see the LEDs change channels and bands are leaps and bounds better then dip switches.

The antenna is made of pretty stiff metal and I imagine will hold up well in a crash. On the plus side, its a 3 lobe which means less to damage in the event of a crash. On the other side it would be nice to have a 4 lobe for better signal.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Cheap price
• Extremely light weight
• Simple to use
• Would mount simply to any R/C vehicle
• Great camera

Cons:

• 3 lobe vs 4 lobe antenna
• 25mW vTx is a bit weak for fixed wings

Conclusion

My only gripe is that I quickly outran the 25mW vTx on the Nano SkyHunter. I only got about 150 yards before the signal started to break up. But I think it has serious potential on something a bit slower.

This is a great little combination unit that I will be sure to throw on different R/C craft to play with. Completely worth the money if you plan on flying a smaller quad or small, slow plane.

Introduction

After flying FPV planes for a few years looking for the perfect plane that was tough, a stable flyer, easy to transport and was fun to fly. I have had more than a few planes that were complete failures in one or more of those groups and was about ready to give up. That was until I saw a few guys flying the full size Skyhunter and I was immediately impress with how it flew. But then that whole "easy to transport" thing kinda goes out the window with that guy.

It was then I found out that Ready Made RC was going to release the Nano Skyhunter and I couldn't wait to see how it flew. Zanderman111 from RMRC came out to Hartsel,CO for the meetup and brought some toys to include the Nano. I was instantly hooked and hoping that the Nano was everything I was looking for.

So just prior to writing this review my phone was destroyed. It somehow managed to get lodged between a door and when the door closed it broke the phone in half, battery punctured and laid waste to my poor HTC. So I lost all my pictures of the unpacking and build process. But without further ado...

RMRC Nano Skyhunter FPV!

This awesome little plane comes packed with features and comes in at $50 for the kit, $75 for the PNP and $110 for the FPV PNP.

• Integrated FPV RMRC Cricket Cam with cable to connect to your rc receiver power
• Molded, Black EPP foam
• Super compact size for zipping through small places
• PNP assembles in 30 minutes or less when hot glue is used
• Easy to find CG

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It's been a long time coming but I am officially done with quads. I love them, I push them beyond their limits and usually don't stop till I crash. Then it sits on my bench for a week or two before new parts arrive and I rebuild.

That was a good and fine until sine things changed. I recently had a little girl and I can no longer take the time/money to crash, fix, tune and fly. Planes are just as fun to me and the time from crash to flying is quite short. I may end up getting back into quads but for the foreseeable future, I'm done.

Adam

So once I got a hold of the X Maxx I have been playing with it every chance I got. So far I have broken an upper arm, hub and wheel. I launched it over a hill and slammed it into a rail road tie sideways. That ripped out the entire metal hub and dog bone.

Overall, I am quite happy with the X Maxx. It's a huge truck takes most abuse that I can throw at it. Just like the T Maxx on steroids. It takes a ridiculous amount of abuse and comes away happy as ever.

Pros: It's massive! It will take most abuse that you can throw at it and keeps going. It's water resistant and loves to play in the mud. It will be sure to put a smile on your face anytime you drive it.

Now for the cons. Price. It's an $800 truck and DOES NOT come with batteries. It's another $200 for two 3s 5000mAh packs and a charger. So how you are at $1K which for most of us is quite a lot. My only other real complaint is the price of extra batteries. At $64 per 5000mAh lipo or $115 per 9000mAh lipo, it's a bit pricey to get an extra set.

So today was the 1 year SCORCH anniversary! Was a great day to fly and hang out with friends. It was about 17 members that showed up and had everything from helis to planes to cars and quads. It has been a great year and can not wait to see what happens in the next one.

I also purchased a Traxxas X Maxx and E Revo from someone just north of me. I was looking for the E Revo but the X Maxx was an added benefit. Both have been a blast but the X Maxx is so massive that is widely fun. But it also has some massive drawbacks that most dont see until they have one.

I picked up a used traxxas summit a couple of weeks ago with the idea of going FPV. Well I got one of the cheap sets from rctimer last week and today I hooked it up. I have moved the "light bar" back one and mounted the camera. I got all excited and took off and had a blast! Until I managed to get the vtx wet and it stopped. But I have a spare downstairs and I'm going to corrosion X everything so next time I won't kill everything.

I finished converting the DJI F550 from a hex into a y6. All went well but on the maiden flight It went into VLC and broke the landing gear. After adjusting the voltage cutoff and installing some HK 190mm landing gear and an action cam gimbal kt back to normal minis the gimbal control. One of those small little things I forgot to order.

I received all the components for the Goby 180 and just need to do a little research on it. I have the motors ans Escs but I need to learn to solder the lemon rx to the naze32 and how kt all goes together. I am used to adding everything without worrying about weight so trying to keep the weight down ks a new thing....Continue Reading

So today was another bad day in the world of flight. While landing on the strip with my wing I went a little long and slammed nose into a 2X4 at the end of the runway. Pretty sure I destroyed my camera.

And as I was flying my F550 it went into a dive and try as I might, I could not pull out of it. It bounced pretty high and broke 3 arms and a motor. Going to see if I can turn it into a y6.

And to top it off, my laptop died today. Been a great day.

So I finished building the CPO tri and got all excited. I took it outside and spun the motors up. Double cheeked that everything was going the right way and pushed the throttle up a little. Just about 6" off the ground, the rear servo crapped out, dropped the motor full left and its started to spin with zero control. Thankfully I was on the grass so I just cut the motors and called it good.

After the crash of the wingnetic I cut off both of the wings to find that only one was actually glued on which is the most likely reason for the high speed spin. One of the forum users noted that he could take off vertically so I installed some CF rods so I could try as well.

BUT WAIT! Thats not all...If you call in the next 30 min we will include TWO! Thats right folks we will include TWO modifications this poor plane so CALL NOW!

I happen to have a few 9g servos laying around and am going to start laying out rudders. Does this wing need rudders? No. Is there any reason to chop up a perfectly good airplane to install rudders? No. But yet, here I go. That is the next project as I wait for a new ESC. By the time this poor thing flys again it will be a completely different plane.

And last but certainly should have been at the beginning of my post, My wife and I are expecting our first child I cant explain how excited I am but now all there is to do is wait.

Adam

So I finally got around to building the tri. Its been two days and I have almost everything wired. Turns out that I need a few servo extensions. I started with the tail mechanism as that was going to be the most infuriating to build. I have seen most people use the steerable nose wheel kits together to make the tilt mechanism but all the hobbytown usa has was wing attachment kits and the pieces were shaped roughly the same so I used them instead....Continue Reading

So I got the wingnetic from HK during one of the sales and a couple of 800mAh 3s to go along with it. I got a few flights with it and found that it needed a little nose weight with the 800 moved all the way forward. It few great for the price point!

That was until on a flight I got a little too close to the ground and pulled up at full throttle. It immediately did a tight aileron roll and nosed into the ground a full speed. After a quick look the nose was split and the wing was separated from the fuse.

Took a few min and looked through the threads to find that some of the wingnetics wings aren't glued thoroughly and can come separated in flight. That would explain the tight roll with no input. Ordered some new parts and Ill get it back in the air ASAP.

Adam

So Im building a CTH Pinata. Its a pretty sweet little plane once I figure out where to put everything for FPV. Scratch that, Figured out where and how to manage the FPV set. Took a little bit of creative wiring and some hopes and dreams but it works now.

I have several of these Fli-Power motors laying around with matching 60a ESCs and have decided to build a massive tri. And the best part is that its going to be a acro tri. No FPV this time. Just going to build it out of some sheet wood, use a CC3D acro+ and a 4s. The only real issue is that I have to buy some props.

And I started a new hobby, aqua gardening. I like having fish but really to me there isnt really exciting about it. So I decided that I would start a aqua garden. The container is an EcoQube C that just completed a KickStarter campaign and I love it so far.

I remember it like it was yesterday...because it was. I went flying at a new spot about 15 min from my house. The area is closed due to a massive flooding a couple of weeks ago. It was a pretty massive flood as it washed out a complete section of walk way. Well since its pretty much closed and nobody can access it unless you are up for a walk and most people are too lazy to go that far out of their way.

So I set up in the middle of the flood area that was now dry and started to fly. I ran a couple of laps on each battery with zero problems. That was until I was half way through my third lipo. The river runs on along the south side of the open area. I exited the one of the laps and my signal and video all at once and the last thing I saw was the river coming fast.

That was it, never saw it again. I spent about 3 hours searching the river and its banks to no avail.