FPV Flying, Where gamers go to die, reality.

end_of_the_tunnel said:

Always some pucker factor with Mr Steele videos. Interesting to see the march of progress with digital fpv systems.

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Last night I was on Bango poking around and did a search for FPV AIO, here are the results, note some of the prices! Affordable for sure. It will be a long time until I bother with digital, I mean if I won the lottery or something then maybe... If I was younger I might be more fanatical and buy such things, but I'm just looking for thrills, challenges and fun, something I can do until something major gives out, or I have the big one and croak! Also I'm looking to promote future social stuff locally when this covid shit is over and try and form an informal club like Matt has in the UK. Get a half dozen or so people together and split the cost of renting a corner of a pasture to fly from regularly. It shouldn't cost much at all and other than a place to park the cars has no impact on the land or livestock, cows ignore things that fly, no threat. Stay informal too, the government need not know you exist and other locations to fly can be found more easily by a group, everybody has connections. There is no benefit whatsoever of being a member of a formal club, if people regulate this stuff, that's where they would be, youtube and the internet can provide whatever resources you need.

Have a look at some of these FPV system prices a good camera and transmitter combo are not too expensive either, the AIO camera/xmiters that can FPV anything are ridiculously cheap.

I was thinking about a cnc foam cutting machine design, you can get small kits that drive a head on and x,y axis pretty well and come without an expensive lazer. I was thinking if a fellow was to mount a brushless RC motor of whatever type was best for rpm and torque in place of the laser cutter head (as long as the mass was about right) use a dremel chuck on the motor shaft and make a router out of it. The only issue I can foresee is the gyroscopic effect of the motor might have to be compensated for in the control software. This would make the project much cheaper, lasers are expensive, have to be heat sinked and so are the switching power supplies that support them. I could run my quad motor cnc foam board cutter off a 2 amp wall wart power supply (the motor might draw a lot of amps, but I can use a lipo for it), if it works on a small frame, it will work on something a meter wide. Something to think about, I don't really need it, but it might make a nice winter project and content for a youtube channel about the build.

Most likely somebody thought of this before and I have yet to do the usual google and youtube searches, if someone else invented the wheel why should I, copy when ya can! First step would be to hook up a motor to an esc and servo tester, put my dremel chuck on it and try and hand cut some foam board and see what happens, foam is best melted not cut.

Perhaps a hot ridgid shaft like a foam cutting wand might work better and can run on AC current too, the cutting speed would have to be reduced probably. For most foam projects a simple hot wire foam cutter works best, but is difficult to automate. I will most likely go this route myself and have several old ATX computer power supplies sitting around looking for a use and I've got a roll of nichrome wire and a PWM motor controller on the way, along with a small wire foam cutter.

This industry can provide economic opportunity to the technically minded, people 3d print planes, parts and mods for RC planes and Quads, as well as other RC vehicles I imagine too, business is done online and by mail. The same goes for laser cut kits from balsa wood or foam boards sold to enthusiast online. These automated computer controlled robots allow small scale manufacturing and custom work to be done from a basement or garage. The internet provides the market and YouTube often provides the marketing. Others sell plans and files for 3d printing or simply give them away on thingiverse or github or some other site devoted to this stuff.

People into the RC hobby are also into things like 3D printing and you will run across it quite a bit, if you are into building or modding commercial RC planes, TPU printed HD camera mounts are standard issue in the Quad world. Roll your own, download a file, or buy from those who sell.

end_of_the_tunnel said:

Always some pucker factor with Mr Steele videos. Interesting to see the march of progress with digital fpv systems.

Click to expand...

Ya know, if I were in the UK an interesting place to look into flying from for a small group (facebook helps assemble it) is a remote corner of some estate, a grand house with surrounding property. These places are always looking for sources of revenue and there might be times after supper or early in the morning where it could be done. Rent a corner of the place and offer some aerial video to them for promotion. Also promote them online in your videos for tourism etc, promote them in the comments, it could be a win, win. Some of these places are quite scenic and buzzing grand houses and old nobility living in apartments there might be fun, they might even wave! Tourist arrive and leave during business hours, in the summer only most of the time and a small group of friends could help pay their power bill every month.

Another guy regulated out of existence, his last post was a year ago and he made some beautiful videos, mostly FPV planes.
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Where to land?

A flight over the fishing village Henningsvær.
I knew the landing was going to be hard, but the cross winds did not help either.
Flown with CrashTestHobby Hecules XL Pusher 71"
Camera: Foxeer Legend 3 (2 pcs)
Used a tad of warp stabilizer on the forward shots except the landing attempts.

more of the above
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Strix Goblin & DragonLink OSD

Fast and fun with the Goblin
My buddy is flying a Ritewing Mini Drak https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYiG...

For that jet feel when you have some experience, this might be an economical option at $180 US. The fuse is made from tough blown molded plastic and is hard to glue to they say. This was made 3 years ago and the cameras have improved and dropped in price a lot, today you could record HD video on board the plane onto a memory card using the FPV camera, for $80 US for the camera and DVR, shoots 1080p or even better, weights a few grams. Here is a bit more information on the Strix Goblin above starting with a detailed expert review and test flight, he shows you what you get and how it flies. This is an advanced plane though and should be used with a UHF radio, a regular 2.4ghz transmitter has a one, or a mile and a half range and this thing can go out of range in less than 30 seconds if you got it wide open in a dive. A GPS return to home and flight control computer are recommended too! I sure as shit would! You can also change the motor prop combo to make it go even faster.
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ReadyMadeRC STRIX Goblin - RCGroups FPV Review

There are also forums like this one devoted to RC models too and a great source of info, like here for pot. Here is a review of the above by the guy above. This was from 2017 and they still sell the plane, now for less money than when this was written, everything has gotten cheaper and better.

• 
• The STRIX Goblin from ReadyMadeRC - there's a 1.2GHz antenna, Vector with GPS, and Dragonlink LRS hidden in there!

I've flown my fair share of fixed-wing FPV; from long-duration airframes, to racers, and everything in between. On the high-performance end of the spectrum, there's only a handful of airframes that check off all of the desires that many FPV pilots want: performance, durability, flight longevity, and of course, ease of launch. The STRIX Goblin is the poster-child in all of those categories. This little hotrod is a plank-style airplane with a ballistic 2300kv brushless motor hanging off the rear in a pusher configuration. Coupled with a 4S pack and a very streamlined airframe, the Goblin is easily capable of speeds over 100mph.


Product page, Price is $180.US now, prices have dropped, not for the newbie or faint of heart though, something to work towards if ya feel the need for speed.
STRIX Goblin - High Performance FPV Plank - PNP

Here you can find discussion forums on every RC topic imaginable, this is a great learning and social resource, many fanatics!

How much power does something like a goblin have in terms of mechanical horsepower?
Well
1HP = 745.7 Watts and say the Gobin's was using say 16 volts X 20 Amps = 320 Watts almost 1/2 HP, in theory that is, there are inefficiencies in the ESC and motor to account, for but say the AUW is just a kilogram, that's not too bad in terms of power to weight. You can also measure the thrust of the motor prop with a digital scale and there are videos to show you how. You might want to quantify the different levels of thrust with different prop and motor combos and try and get it to go like snot. You could also run it with a 6S battery and different motor or esc and even a 8 S battery with much less capacity and endurance, but maybe fast enough to pull the wings off. You have to apply a lot more power to go fast, the faster you go, if you double the power you will fall well short of doubling the speed, wind resistance and 100 MPH and above is a bitch. There are online calculators for this too, if yer inclined to theory and if you want to be good at going fast you should be.

There is probably someone online who has a speed record to beat for this plane and the gauntlet has already been cast cast down and the duel was on.

DIY-HP-LED said:

This industry can provide economic opportunity to the technically minded, people 3d print planes, parts and mods for RC planes and Quads, as well as other RC vehicles I imagine too, business is done online and by mail. The same goes for laser cut kits from balsa wood or foam boards sold to enthusiast online. These automated computer controlled robots allow small scale manufacturing and custom work to be done from a basement or garage. The internet provides the market and YouTube often provides the marketing. Others sell plans and files for 3d printing or simply give them away on thingiverse or github or some other site devoted to this stuff.

People into the RC hobby are also into things like 3D printing and you will run across it quite a bit, if you are into building or modding commercial RC planes, TPU printed HD camera mounts are standard issue in the Quad world. Roll your own, download a file, or buy from those who sell.

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Adoption and adaptation of entry level 3D printer software and hardware makes all sorts of machines and manufacturing methods accessable that were once too expensive for the average man to own.

But you can still build and fly low tech way. Foamboard construction always seemed like an easy entry to building for flying rc. No new model construction videos in user account below, but still a valuable resource for construction tips and ideas.

end_of_the_tunnel said:

Adoption and adaptation of entry level 3D printer software and hardware makes all sorts of machines and manufacturing methods accessable that were once too expensive for the average man to own.

But you can still build and fly low tech way. Foamboard construction always seemed like an easy entry to building for flying rc. No new model construction videos in user account below, but still a valuable resource for construction tips and ideas.

Experimental Airlines

These days...whatever I feel like and have time for. May contain one or more of the following ingredients: RC aviation, drones, pellet gun shooting, science,...

www.youtube.com

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They are very useful in the hobby world and a lot of things are tested and developed here, there is a big crossover between the types of people into 3D printing and the RC hobby A lot of engineers are into the hobby, both RC and things like 3D printing and it has a big impact on the speed of progress. I've got more on my plate than I can handle and curiosity did kill the cat! I'd order up some 3D printed parts if I couldn't come up with a solution using traditional methods of innovation. They are perfect for someone who wants to run a little online business out of their basement or are into making things seriously, they will end up being like a table saw in many workshops. Most people won't struggle with CAD software though, they will download free files for things designed by others or pay for the file.

In the scale of the RC world you can make anything fly if you apply enough power and tape a flight control computer to it. Even pigs could fly with enough thrust coming out of their arses, though they would have to be pitched near vertical! You could even wiggle their ears for canard control surfaces, if you could get em moving fast enough!
When (RC) pigs FLY....

end_of_the_tunnel said:

Adoption and adaptation of entry level 3D printer software and hardware makes all sorts of machines and manufacturing methods accessable that were once too expensive for the average man to own.

But you can still build and fly low tech way. Foamboard construction always seemed like an easy entry to building for flying rc. No new model construction videos in user account below, but still a valuable resource for construction tips and ideas.

Experimental Airlines

These days...whatever I feel like and have time for. May contain one or more of the following ingredients: RC aviation, drones, pellet gun shooting, science,...

www.youtube.com

Click to expand...

I'd like to make the thread resource rich for those who stumble across it and take an interest in one of its many areas of interest these days. It has broadened and deepened considerably and is breaking down into specialites, even the quad racing world has racing, freestyle, cinematic, mini quad and whoop classes and planes have gone the same way. There is more than gas engines, balsa wood and guys standing around a field watching the thing fly at a club, that is a big traditional part of it, but a rapidly diminishing one compared to other things people are doing in the hobby world with new materials and technology.

The RC groups cover all of these topics in depth, this is just a motivator and place for pot users and FPV rebels to chat and recruit! I still spend time here in the politics section at least until Trump is safely in prison with is minions squealing as they run for cover. I'll probably move on to the RC groups because talking and doing tech is more fun than politics and with more pleasant and humorous conversation. Trump is a threat to my country the NATO alliance and he and his supporters are traitors to their nation and enemies of humanity. It was the technology of modern LED grow lights that originally brought me here, legalization, medical cannabis and finally Trump and Trumpism kept me here. I'm at war with these cocksuckers and it shows in the politics section, I'm at war and I conduct myself as such there. Nothing personal, I have an agenda and an objective and I make it obvious to all, it is a national security threat to my country, the biggest one since Hitler.

I'm not exactly drawn to the sound of gun fire, it's just that it's right next door and in my face. Also I'm outraged and heart broken at the tragic stupidity unfolding before our eyes, perhaps 300,000 dead before Trump is done, with many times more than that maimed for life, the statistics are horrifying and appaling. America will be dystopia until Trump is gone and in prison, the base will be dealt with by the usual means in the coming years and it won't be pretty, too many have died in Civil War II, almost as many as CWI.

I expect Boris might pay the price for his fuck up on covid too, though he was smart enough to draw back before disaster, catching it himself I'm sure helped with empathy. We are covid free in NS where I live, for now, but you never know with this stealthy disease, I'm free to go about and don't live in fear, though I take precautions and many business types are still limited or closed. I expect normal in about a year from now, it will take longer in America.

I was working on a little project to try and use a 2600 mah Li-on cell phone battery that was purchased by mistake last year and collecting dust, it doesn't fit any devices I own. I looked up it's spec sheet and found it's max discharge rate was 2C and it would be nice to drain it at less than half of that. I need to do something with it because it has to at least be brought up to storage charge levels, though this is not as important than as with Lipos. So I'm soldering on a JST lead so I can hook it up to a cheap USB charger that should charge it at a good rate. I might be able to use this thing wherever I need a 1s that is 2600mah, might be useful for something. You can't use batteries like this to power an aircraft, the maximum discharge current is only 2C, you might be able to power a micro wing with it that took a 1s battery and drew around an amp in flight and 2 amps on take off and climb out. If you over draw on these batteries they will heat up and might catch fire, also the capacity will drop below 80% and the cell will be damaged, you would be asking for trouble.

One possible use for it might be as an FPV backpack camera /xmitter that would function for a long time, I'd just stick and AIO camera on it with the double sided tape shown in the picture and velcro it to whatever needed it. It might even end up as a DIY LED flashlight, or even a landing and navigation beacon for night flying.

Here I have the cell phone Li on and a USB charger, the other two Li on batteries of different sizes and were salvaged from old notebook computers, I have three of the green 2200mah ones in my transmitter, you can leave them charged no problem. You can also use a cheap USB charger to charge them or your regular charger, most have a function for them. These batteries have a much higher C rating than the cell phone cell and can be used for model aircraft propulsion, though high C types used for vaping are often used for higher loads and long range quadcopters.

The red tape is transparent gel tape bought at the dollar store, it's the stickiest double sided, thick mounting tape I've ever used, very strong bond.

ZOHD Drift One HOUR in the Sky Setup Inc iNav Settings

Howdy, this is the full overview to the updated version of my ZoHd Drift that has now been fully flight tested and flights over one hour are now easily possible. FULL Setup details below, press SHOW MORE to see them. The model can be bought here https://bit.ly/3cVDylf

IMPORTANT:
All items shown have been BOUGHT out of MY OWN money for my own abuses. They are NOT a "freebies for review". As such my opinions of these items and anything else shown here may differ from other reviews because I've actually "bought it".

If ya screwed up and thundered into the ground at 500 Kph, you wouldn't need to bother with collecting anything to use again, there wouldn't be much left and you'd need a shovel to find somethings.

EXTREM STUNNING !!! RC SPEED APP. 500KMH 308MPH BIG MONSTER FROM HJK SPEEDWINGS FLIGHT DEMONSTRATION

If I wanted to FPV this thing from inside the cockpit, I could use a much smaller servo for panning and a micro FPV camera, Thin glass cell phone screen protectors sections for cockpit windows. First build one following the plans and fly it LOS,if required, build a second better one and make the mods on that airframe, I can use the parts from the first try.

Free plans and a video on how to build this plane are above in the thread, the motors, escs, props and servos for it cost around $20US and are available from banggood or other places online.
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Grumman Goose foam RC water plane

This video is from 2016 and an eagle tree vector is still an expensive but reliable FC system. Here Matt describes the information on the OSD or (On Screen Display) similar to a HUD in a jet fighter and modeled after it. Most modern flight control computers give you an OSD these days and you can pick and choose what is on it by hooking it up to your computer and configuring it with a betaflight, INAV or others, most are open source projects.

Matt is from the UK and has certain critical information obscured in the OSD video like altitude, distance from home or other info that could get him into shit, his GPS is hidden for this reason and that fact he doesn't want any yobs showing up at his location and littering or causing other shit. I think your average hobbyist in the UK should be ok, just don't piss anybody off or injure them and make good on any damages.
Eagle Tree Vector OSD Walk Through in the Phantom FX-61 Flying Wing

I was wondering WTF Matt was talking about here, so I did a search and found something interesting, Aluminum, but how much does it weigh, I figure it should be bright if it's for ceilings.
Check this out! Yep, I have one of the MudLED boards on the way!



MUD LEDs might even be useful for growing

Mud-In 6214
This channel allows you to incorporate LED lighting into a wall or ceiling with no parts of the channel visible. The Mud-In 6214 channel is available in Silver, Black & White and can be paired with a Clear, Soft & Solid Lens

DIY-HP-LED said:

This video is from 2016 and an eagle tree vector is still an expensive but reliable FC system. Here Matt describes the information on the OSD or (On Screen Display) similar to a HUD in a jet fighter and modeled after it. Most modern flight control computers give you an OSD these days and you can pick and choose what is on it by hooking it up to your computer and configuring it with a betaflight, INAV or others, most are open source projects.

Matt is from the UK and has certain critical information obscured in the OSD video like altitude, distance from home or other info that could get him into shit, his GPS is hidden for this reason and that fact he doesn't want any yobs showing up at his location and littering or causing other shit. I think your average hobbyist in the UK should be ok, just don't piss anybody off or injure them and make good on any damages.
Eagle Tree Vector OSD Walk Through in the Phantom FX-61 Flying Wing

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Lots of flight controllers offer built in OSD now, it seems. Remember long threads back on rcgroups, covering diy OSD's.