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This thread is privately moderated by scrtsqrl, who may elect to delete unwanted replies. |
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Mini-HowTo
Scrt Sqrl Notes...
My Favourite FPV Videos
This one by WOLT
This one by Winds of Change
Best formation flying video by CaliDave and the Echelon crew:
LANDINGS I like to fly from small fields. To do that safely, I have to land precisely and accurately. I have to control two parameters: Glideslope and Line-up. Flying the SAME glideslope and the SAME line up will put the plane on the SAME spot in the LZ. Here's my wag at trying to make that happen: I use my carry box as a landing aid. I stand the cover up around 3 paces from the box itself laying flat. If I am on glide slope and line-up, I should see a "T" as I fly in. I also found that the carry box is highly visible in the terrain, and marks the landing aimpoint very well, especially when I'm flying into the sun, when the ground is totally washed out... The proceedure goes: 1. Mark on top of an Initial Approach Point. I use a church, because it is easily distinguishable from the air. 2. Find the dot & go to it. This gives me a rough heading. 3. Make out the "T". This gives me more precise glideslope and line-up. 4. Maintain the "T" until the LZ is made. 5. Wave off and bring it arround if I get too far out of parameters. It seems to work. Using this, I've been able to put my plane into the purple bush around 7 out of 10 times. I'm sure that number will get better. The true test will be when I try it out in some other location. Check this out:
Night Landings Same procedures I use in daylight. The difference are four lights...Red flasher on the back "nav aid"...White Flasher on the forward "nav aid" for glideslope and line up...an orage light (plastic pumpkin left over from halloween) to mark the forward edge of the bush...and a flashlight shined by my son at the airplane so that I know not to hit him (and me, 'cause I'm standing next to him). So long as I am on line-up, the flashing light just becomes visible once I am on glideslope. I keep it barely visible on top of the middle light...I stay on glideslope. Very easy and reliable. |
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Last edited by scrtsqrl; Jan 01, 2012 at 11:14 AM.
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If I was starting from scratch as a newbie...FPV Set-up for NEWBIES OK, there are a lot of people experimenting with FPV set-ups. For those of us who just want an economical, start w/o expending too many brain cells here's what you need: The Plane: Skysurfer RTF Set-it up for 3ch operation. Use the fourth channel to panning the camera. The Video Gear: 5.8 Ghz Video Link Camera. Mount it on the canopy or a full sized servo built into the canopy for pan. Video Goggles Get some ideas at the bottom of this page on how you put it together...Any questions, just PM me...or reply to this thread... There you have it! This should give you a bird that'll get you started right away. Not so fast to get you in trouble. Light, if you crash. Lots of endurance, up to 30 minutes depending on how you fly. Hope this helps. |
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Last edited by scrtsqrl; May 10, 2011 at 08:51 AM.
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With winter fast approaching, daylight is becoming scarce. It's time to learn how to fly at night. Because flying opportunities here are relatively few and fleeting, the fact that I can grab and go anytime is crucial to getting any sort of flight time.
Here's a simple mod to the "basic Easystar" that'll make flying at night easier. I attached a red and a green (actually, it's white covered w/ green tape) flashing lights on the wing tips. At the wing tips, the lights are visible, 360 degrees around the airplane, but invisible to the camera. Additionally, they appear brighter head on. The lights can either be steady or flashing...I choose to fly with them flashing because they catch the eye more readily compared to when they are steady. The problem with night flight is simply the lack of visual cues. Goes with out saying that one has to know what the plane is doing to properly control it. I use an "inside-outside" scan when I fly , where I mostly fly from the goggles and occasionally peek out to look the plane (I usually fly alone). This mod gives me a decent idea of what the plane's doing. If I see a red light, it's going from right to left...If it's green, left to right. If it's red on the left and green on the right, it's going away. If it's green on the left and red on the right, it's going towards me. The second part of the equation is seeing what the plane is doing from the goggles...up and away, that's not a problem, because the ambient light is sufficient. The problem is during the landing. I fly off a confined space, so landing precisely is key. I did not have this half of the set-up during this flight, but I will during the next flight when the weather permits. I simply put a flasher in each of the two pieces of my cover box which I use for a landing aid. I also put another flasher in the middle of the the "landing patch" so that I have a target...Following the same landing procedures described earlier (see my blog), I think this should sufficiently guarantee safe and precise landings at night. I will post video of that when I get it. Here is the video of my first deliberate truly "night flight". Up until now, I've been flying in "pinky" time, just after sunset...During this flight, you can see in the video a sliver of sunlight, but trust me, It was dark enough to make my knees shake...notice my "hectic" camera work. Hope this helps. |
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Last edited by scrtsqrl; Feb 06, 2008 at 11:26 AM.
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Why 200mW?Quote:
Does interference from 500mW affect the radio? Is there any noticeable difference in range? Both combos are rated the same "Over 2000ft". I suppose (theoretically) 200mW should have much shorter range. Would you feel a difference given your average flights? How far do you usually fly away? Your answers will help me choose between these two combos. Thanks. |
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how do you tell video strength?
Just wondering how to tell video strength and also what is the best/ most economical to upgrade. My video setup gets about 100 meters range. If I get a better rx antenna (the easiest to upgrade) will this greatly improve it?
Its a 2.4ghz camera setup (color) with a 72mhz rc set |
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