FPV Planes

Making counterweights for adjusting CG

2009-12-08T09:11:00.000-08:00

In this video I show you how to make lead counterweights to help balance out your RC FPV plane. I used fishing weights that were pounded flat with a hammer. With the lead flat its easy to tape to the surface area of the plane without causing too much drag.

FPV T-28 Trojan

2009-11-20T13:53:00.001-08:00

So I finally caved and bought the new paint scheme of the T-28 Trojan from Parkzone. I would have to say that I am happy with the amount of space inside of the plane to work with. It has room for everything. My only big complaint is power. It definitely needs a different motor. I'm looking at the BP2820-6 http://www.bphobbies.com/view.asp?id=V450327&pid=B1898547. I'll have to try it with both a 3 cell and a 4 cell and see which one works best. I'd also like to look into a retractable gear setup sometime. Here is the first recorded flight with the T-28...

Twin Easystar FPV Project

2009-09-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

Setup:
(2) Multiplex Easystar ARF kits
(2) BP 2212-06 Brushless Motors
(2) 30amp Brushless ESC's from BPhobbies.com
(4) Blue Bird BMS-371 Micro servos
(3) Y-connectors for the rudder, elevator, & esc's.
(1) ESKY Gyro

The center wing spar is cut 5 inches from center on each side making it a 10" spar. The tail section is measured and cut the same. I used 5 minute epoxy to join the spars together and covered with clear packing tape. I also used the clear packing tape for hinges on the ailerons and elevator. On the bottom of both fuselages I used clear packing tape to prevent the foam from getting messed up from the roads. This also helps allow it to slide better on the road as well.

FPV over the North Park MN Wetlands

2009-04-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

Today I just wanted to get out and fly. The weather has been so back and fourth lately that I haven't had much of a chance to get out. Reworked the FPV system on the plane to better balance out the CG. I had to move the video transmitter to the tail of the plane to stop the servo twitch. This problem has now been solved. I am wondering if it would be possible to put the gyro back now since the cause of the interference was the video TX. I will have to test that tomorrow.

Windy day at the park...

2009-04-08T19:08:00.001-07:00

Today Mike and I went to the park to fly in the windy spring weather. With gusts up to 20mph flying was a little difficult at times but it was alright. I didn't get to do any FPV piloting today but Mike finally got the opportunity to look thru the glasses for a change. Mike has been working on a scratch build lately. Together we have come up with 3 different prototypes. So far we have only had a few successful flights and need to return to the drawing board for some more changes. Today was his most successful day yet. Actually had it flying till the wind thru it around. Hopefully we can have some videos of his build and of him flying. Stay tuned

What I've been up to...

2009-03-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

Well I haven't posted any videos lately simply because I'm working on finishing up my website. Been doing lots of work lining up affiliates to represent on the site and in my videos. I have also been doing a lot of scratch building of a few different planes. Just about finished with a 64mm EDF foamy jet, and am about start a replica of my easystar out of polystyrene foam from Menards. The only reason I'm copying this plane is because I would like to have a fleet of them so my friends that come watch me fly have something to start on and practice with.

Stay tuned, more videos coming soon!

Its down!!!

2009-03-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

Ok... So I checked the weather report this morning and saw that it was suppose to start raining around noon. I decided to not mess around and called for a tree trimmer. I googled tree service for my area and came up with Sherwood Tree Service, where I met Tom Holberg. He was kind enough to be at my house within an hour and removed the plane and neighboorhood kids football and soccer ball for a mere $20 bucks. I was so happy that he did it so cheap and was very cool about the whole situation. He laughed at me mostly... Here are some pics I took this morning of the tree and of the plane after I got it back.

A little update...

2009-03-19T22:14:00.000-07:00

So I was unable to get the plane down from the tree... I will be getting it down tomorrow! So I got it stuck, then got the neighbor kids football and started throwing that at my plane. I got the football stuck! So obviously i haven't learned any lesson at all here, I started throwing a soccer ball at the football to get it down and got the soccer ball stuck too... thee.. what ever its up to now! The batteries look like they have died off now hopefully they won't be damaged. From 30ft below the damage looks and sounds to be: Broken main wing, Broken servo, possibly more... Check back soon I will post more videos as I make progress!

Its in the tree...

2009-03-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

Yes... its still there!

More soon...

Low & Slow FPV Flight around the Park

2009-03-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the park to do a little low altitude flying. This is something that I would like to get a little more used to simply because my next stunt is gonna require some prolonged low altitude flying. I am also still having some twitching problems that I believe is due to the stock video antenna. I will have to troubleshoot a little with this antenna to try and get rid of the twitch. Thanks for watching!

2009-03-10T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a up close and personal look at my easystar FPV project.

2009-03-09T17:22:00.000-07:00

In this video I was trying to test and see if I could fly my FPV easystar from inside my house using the tv. Everything went well till I flew at too wide of an angle from the house. My Futaba radio ended up cutting out just up the street from my house. Could have been worse!! No damage was done. Next week we fly to the water tower and back. See you then.

FPV Easystar March 6th 2009

2009-03-06T19:28:00.000-08:00

Today I did some troubleshooting into why my interference was so bad in past videos... What I found out was that my high gain whip antenna was broken! After replacing this antenna with the stock antenna the picture clarity cleared right up! Thank god nothing expensive got broke. The other testing I did today was a test to see if my video equipment could be inside the house while the plane is flying. Obviously the test was successful. The next test will be to test how far i can fly away from my house while I'm in the house flying on my TV like a video game! Stay Tuned...

MN Winter FPV Flying

2009-03-06T10:07:00.000-08:00

OK... so todays video was a test FPV flight on my new easystar! A couple things that I should go over first so you have the info... My FPV transmitter was damaged in a previous flight. The antenna connection was broken loose from the transmitter. Now if you have a transmitter of your own and you have opened up to see how things are connected inside you'll notice the brass or gold colored antenna piece on the top of the transmitter. This is held in place by solder. In my previous crash with my FPV Corsair it hit the ground so hard it bent and broke this piece loose. Not completely, but just enough to cause it to have no antenna! So I had to troubleshoot this whole deal and resolder this piece back in place hoping that it is good enough to continue to use. My range issues are a lot better but I am still getting interference. I think my next step is to mess with some antenna combinations to see if I can make it better. The other option would be to get a second receiver and a diversity receiver and try that route, which I will likely do anyway in the future. Thanks for watching!

Easystar Gyro Flight Testing

2009-02-24T21:03:00.000-08:00

Today I installed an Esky gyro on my Easystar. The last couple times I flew it the wind was really making it rock back and fourth. The gyro stabilized the plane great! The other modifications include a BPhobbies.com BP2212-06 parkjet motor (6x4 prop) and an aileron modification. Todays test was to see how the plane climbed with the new parkjet motor, fly with the gyro, & use modded aileron system. Detailed video coming soon...

Toughing out the Weather...

2009-02-22T22:19:00.000-08:00

MN is still pretty cold. I have gotten the chance to get out and fly a bit without the cameras with some success. I have modified an Easystar with a Parkjet motor. Its fast! Purpose for this plane is to get as high as I can to just float around in the clouds. Videos coming soon!

RC F-117 FPV SpyPlane

2009-02-05T00:46:00.000-08:00