Thought it was time to start my own blog on our largest project to date. Here is a look at the prototype we took to the AMA Expo back in mid January.



This is basically a bone stock FrSky Taranis transmitter that we have put in our own case, and modified the stock gimbal from the Taranis with metal cross bars, stronger springs, and of course the third axis for yaw/rudder.

For those that may be new to the Taranis, it is a full telemetry radio with about every feature you can think of. It has 16 channels, and can be expanded to 32 channels. It is a very safe radio with RSSI monitoring, this means the radio is always checking the received signal strength at the receiver, if it gets low for any reason, the radio will talk to you. Yes, the radio also has full speech, and very nice feature. It can read you telemetry, tell you what switch you just hit, warn you when a battery is getting low, etc. No need to look at the screen during flight. In terms of mixing, this radio can do it all. Chances are, if you can think of something you would like to mix, this radio should be able to do it.

With that said, the radio can be a little tricky to learn, but there are a lot of helpful folks on the internet, and a lot of great videos. Keep it simple at first and slowly grow into the more powerful capabilities as you become more comfortable with it.

At this point we have a working prototype. The case is getting a few revisions by our designer Roger at Forgues Research. Roger is a fellow RC pilot that loves high end scale planes. He is currently taking on his TopGun dream project this year. For those that may not know, TopGun is a very prestigious scale model competition, not for the faint of heart. Please check out his Kickstart, and consider a small donation:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/762453963/top-gun
Without Roger, this project never would have gotten past the idea phase.

Currently we are working to reduce the costs on this radio. The big expense is the case itself. The sample above was all CNC machined from 2 big chunks of 6061 alloy. Not a cheap option.

While some folks have told us they are willing to pay for the fancy case, I am pretty sure we can offer an even nicer case for less money. So that is the task I am currently pursuing.

I'll update this as things progress.

Thanks for all of your support on this project! Please feel free to ask any questions, I'll do my best to answer.

-Wayne

p.s. We do have a no obligations waiting list for the radio. We will simply email you when the radios are ready for sale in the order of wish you signed up on the list. You are not required to buy anything, or spend a single cent. If you would like to be added to the list, just email me at wayne@alofthobbies.com and include the words "Single Stick" in the title of the email.

Looks GREAT
I have to sell my Ace SS to buy that!

You know where I'm at Wayne. Looks good, anxiously awaiting its availability.
hook

My first radio was a Heathkit 8 channle singe stick

This is just a bit better

Ken

Love the single stick wayne! Love it!

I would loooove a similar case, but for the standard gimbals and switches, just to be able to convert it to a tray-style radio....

Drools. I learned to fly on a Pro Line single stick. Still have it in fact. I'm signing up.

Originally Posted by Phaedra

I would loooove a similar case, but for the standard gimbals and switches, just to be able to convert it to a tray-style radio....

You mean something like this, This is made from solid aluminum CNC'd using stock Taranis components.

A work of art aerografixs

Ken

That, sir, would be perfect

Originally Posted by Phaedra

That, sir, would be perfect

I can make you one

Originally Posted by greyflight390

A work of art aerografixs

Ken

Thank you

For those that may not know, aerografixs is Roger, our case designer.

-Wayne

Originally Posted by aerografixs

I can make you one

Well, when I said perfect, I meant "almost perfect"
In the meantime, I already modified my Taranis to fit my needs.
It doesn't look remotely as sexy as your case design, but ergonomically it works like a charm for me.
A perfect case for me would require at least:
- room for my upgraded speaker
- collapsable attachments for carrying belt.
- room for my "extended" sliders (which I can more easily operate with my pinkie finger)
- have the earphone connector NOT on the back, but anywhere else (preferably on the front, close to the speaker)
- have the USB plug NOT on the back of the case, preferably on the side of the case

If I had full design freedom, I would move the display to the top of the front of the case.

So, if your design could be changed to fit these specs, I would be interested in a price quote for one....it would look a lot less Frankenstein

Ok, I'm going to suggest we keep this on topic. Please PM for more details if folks are interested in a dual stick case.

Thanks,

-Wayne