This is FPV!!!

Amazing video compilation of some FPV footage from a guy (Trappy, on RCG) in a mountain town in Austria. Wow. Click the pic for youtube or expand below to watch in better resolution on Vimeo here in a window.

Eagle Eyes Telemetry and Antenna Tracking!!!

Eagle Tree Systems (the one that provides my GPS and on screen display overlay as well as data logging for my FPV setup) has been working hard to get a ground station setup that has built in antenna tracking control, remote telemetry and video diversity (picks best of two separate receivers for video). I spent over $150 for a basic video diversity already by itself, and this new unit from ET has that plus all the tracking and antenna tracking for only $89. Anyway, this is what I’ve been waiting for since this last summer to help with longer range flights. Note, it is mostly just the electronics. You still have to buy the 9dbi square patch antenna, the receivers and actual servo tracker (all expensive, but most FPV already has all of this).

DW Foamies BAF Yak 48"

I finally went ahead and got one of the DW Foamies 48" Yak 54. Going to run my Turnigy 35-42C 1100kv motor in it with a 40A Turnigy ESC and either an APC 11x5.5E or 12x6E prop. Probably try to pick up some 1800mAh 3S1P Lipo's for light flight, but 2200mAh will be normal. Want to also try 4S 2200mAh. Went with 4 hitec HS-65HB servos, which are a little spendy, but not as much as the metal gear ones. I'll keep this section updated with the build thread. Final AUW with landing gear and no battery is 26oz. Including the 2650mAh 3S1P Lipo, it is 34oz. The 4S1P lipo is slightly lighter by half an ounce.

ETOC Freestyle

This is just about the coolest indoor 3D flying I've seen. I still want to get a 48" BAF Yak 54 from DWFoamies.com. Not that it is anything like flying what is below, but it works better for me to fly at the park.

Easy Star Mark ][ (update)

Took it out for a windy/chilly maiden flight today (using the old wings, since the ailerons had been all repaired). CG is still a little too far back for basic flight, even with 3300mAh lipo in, but if flew just fine (actually did some pretty nice soaring). I may see how it does with the two 2650mAh 3S1P's in parallel (yes, that is a 3S2P). Flight times would be pretty long (flew over 25 minutes on the 3300mAh).

Easy Star Mark ][

Began work on the new FPV airframe (a new grey wing colored Multiplex Easy Star). One thing I really wanted to do, after learning a lot from the first one, was to put the elevator and rudder servos (Hitec HS-81's in this case) embedded in the tail section and to put most of the electronics in the fuselage beneath the wings. This should move the CoG back quite, which was needed for larger 3000+ maH LiPo in addition to the pan/tilt camera pod and to allow a lot more space for in the front hatch and (hopefully) clean up a lot of the massive amounts of wiring with the Eagle Tree Systems OSD Pro, eLogger, GPS, Altimeter, Mic and all the cabling daisy chained from the Rx to the OSD Pro for Return to Home (RtH) operation (sort of like autopilot when you lose radio contact).

New Transmitter!

I have been looking at upgrading my Futaba 7CAP for a while. I had been thinking about a 9ch at least, and I wanted to still be able to do 72MHz, since that seems to carry better than 2.4GHz for distance FPV. Settled on a Futaba 9CAP Super, which makes use of plug in modules for all the transmission frequency function. That means, you buy a module for whatever 72MHz channel you want, or they have a TP-FSM synthesized module that allows you to do any channel (this is what I got). The radio was brand new off EBay, and came with an R149DP 9ch Rx (PCM dual conversion 72MHz). I also bought a cheap $30 combo Tx/Rx module that works with it off Ebay for 2.4GHz too. May just buy a Spektrum 2.4GHz system that works with it too.

Cost of FPV?

So, figured I would compile a list of the current best things for a complete FPV setup (including twin video reciever with diversity switching, head tracking, On Screen Display, and with the new low cost of telemetry tracking). This doesn't include S&H or a bunch of the small cables and costs there, or backup/replacement servos, props, multiple batteries, a camcorder to record your flights, etc. This sets up with 900MHz as the basis for Video transmission and 72MHz R/C control (other option is 2.5GHz, but this attenuates faster, so distance is reduced for both video and control). This is also based on an Easy Star plane, but cost is similar for other platforms, like a funjet (actually goes up about $100 for twinstar for multiple motors/esc or the easy glider). So, here it goes (oh, and the final bill is right around the $2000 mark, minimum):

Return of the EZ*

Wow...been trying like hell to find a replacement Multiplex EasyStar Kit. They've been back ordered for around 6 months now. Finally found a place in Utah that had them in stock for $60 each, plus S&H, so ordered 2. Merry Christmas to me. ;) Can't wait to get them here to begin some of the mods I had planned (like carving out the inside and putting the servos in the tail to balance out all the stuff I have in the nose for FPV as well as a heavier battery. Probably will just use the existing wings that I have already with the aileron's already in place. Need to decide if I cut out a hatch into the mid-section where the servos use to go, from the bottom to put the electronics all in there. Feels like it would work out better than trying to cram them all in the main compartment, which always made the camera pod not want to fit on very well (and part of the problem the resulted in the crash).

The Dark Side

I just got my Parkzone BF-109 plane. The latest addition to my livery. Hopefully, it will be nice enough this weekend to fly it while I wait for a replacement fuse for my Easy Star. I have been very happy with my T-28, and really would love to get a F4U corsair as well. These foam warbirds from Parkzone are really pretty good planes.