Brosius85 's RC adventures

[brosius85]

hey guys, i think its about time i got a thread to post all my adventures, keep track of where i have been and where i am headed.

found out about FPV with the FPV NY video, by the time i had realized it was an rc plane with a video link i had ordered a Zeph and an IYF44, and a mismach bunch of hardware i quickly thought would do the job. Being brand new to rc of course 1/2 the hardware was completely wrong and by the time i realized spektrum was a bad idea it was too late.

within a few weeks i had my IYF ready for the maiden..and i tried to learn to fly.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXUACekO5xs&list=UUTeZieSiIGxkY2KoF7-5FOA&index=19&feature=plcp

by the time i knew how to fly it had bean beat up pretty bad. i still flew it lots and lots (every spare day, 3 or 4 times a week)

when i was supremely confident in my flying skills 6 months later i decided it was time to build the zephyr. not FPV yet i knew not to rush. (and wanted to save up for a fully blown setup)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgHXQ4P7GGc&list=UUTeZieSiIGxkY2KoF7-5FOA&index=16&feature=plcp

the maiden went ok, i had cg wrong but no dramas, i just wanted more power.

next thing on the list was a GoPro, this allowed me to practice smooth flying and learn the ins and outs of music selection and video editing, also choosing a good spot to fly from to get sweet videos. came up with some corkers.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGm7iDlTKGI&list=UUTeZieSiIGxkY2KoF7-5FOA&index=12&feature=plcp


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTfzpq6KKV4&list=UUTeZieSiIGxkY2KoF7-5FOA&index=11&feature=plcp

eventually i just bit the bullet and got some fatsharks, a lawmate 24 500mw tx and rx, and an 8db patch. i also changed to 36mhz control and tuned the antenna to 4m ish

this allowed me to really get what i wanted for all this time, some serious fun in real FPV!!!! i have enjoyed the original z on 3s and have moved on to a 6s Z, i will update here as my adventure continues.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBjDw3vz8mY&list=UUTeZieSiIGxkY2KoF7-5FOA&index=7&feature=plcp


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je8V0smEpdc&list=UUTeZieSiIGxkY2KoF7-5FOA&index=4&feature=plcp


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxTlLOFLTrY&list=UUTeZieSiIGxkY2KoF7-5FOA&index=1&feature=plcp

[Moelich]

Those first flights are pure LOL. You seemed to get the hang of it very quickly though. What happened to your hair? Had a prop incident?

[meme]

Really nice & fast carrer, brosius, i laughed hard while watching the first Video :-)

[aaron_gx]

Good show, man!

[kev.au]

Would be tough learning to fly with a wing like that, you did great and seemed to pick things up rather quick.


That "FPV Disaster" video was soooooo close dude, holly shit.

[roberto]

very fast learner and talented. congrats dude.

[sircana]

That's a quick career!!! Congrats, man. You learn fast.

[MileHunter]

Thank you brosius, this was informative. Looks like I accidently have started down a similar road, in that I ordered inferior equipment. I can't send it back, so will get by until I use up this equipment, or learn to fly the Zii, with the intention of buy the right equipment as time goes by. Besides the Zii & Hacker for my 3S setup, the rest will be a trial. My hope is new people to FPVLAB will not have to go through the pain and expense we have done here. I really didn't have extra cash laying around to throw away, lol.

[Trappy]

wow, and to think me being goofy spawned all that. LOL. very nice story, posted on the front page of TBS!

[roberto]

so the secret to success was losing the long hair?

[jimmaplesong]

Hey Brosius, nice compilation. I had a similar story starting with a towel (coroplast wing) just a year ago last fall:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQrqow-DBJ0
The laugh at the end tells you I'm hooked.

Then with an IYF44 three months later:
http://vimeo.com/21240715

And now with a Zephyr:
http://vimeo.com/30290357

[aaron_gx]

trappy, you being goofy has spawned a lot of things... ;)

[gitcho]

dude - you're fun to watch =) .... i know it takes a lot of time to make/edit/publish those videos, and respond to all the forum posts --- thank you ...

[ssassen]

Good show!

[roberto]

spawned a big fat hole on my bank account. and a lot of fun of course. :)


trappy, you being goofy has spawned a lot of things... ;)

[Danub]

Cool Stuff!!
Man I feel sorry for your poor IYF. :p
That poor think just kept bouncin' again and again LOL :cool:

[nick_75au]

Great Videos, I had a good laugh at your first video, at least the gear could handle the mishaps a little better.
Makes me think about getting into planes as well, when I first tried planes 20 odd years ago the gear was more expensive and fragile, a 2 channel foam thing with a cox .049 flick and throw, I did not have the money at 15 to continue so went to boats(which I've always had a passion for anyway).
Seriously I'm considering a Bixler or Floater jet to learn to fly with?

Cheers
Nick

[brosius85]

wow guys :) thanks for all the positive feedback :)

the forums have been the biggest factor in getting me through the hard early part. everyone's enthusiasm helps when times are tough and you keep crashing :p

@ nick_75au a bixler would be a great learner plane. but it depends what your end game is. i knew i wanted to get from zero to zephyr proximity in as few steps as possible, so the IYF was a way to fast track that. you learn how to set up a flying wing, how to launch one, how to land one, fast reflexes etc where a bixler is just going to float around.

the hair was just annoying me in the end lol i used to work in construction so i could let it go wild and not get hassled, but when you are looking for a new job it kind of weird some people out haha

and WOW im on the TBS homepage!! WOOO!!

wait- my biggest fail broadcast across the globe FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

LOL

[ritewing]

Bro ,you are the MAN!
I have had a blast watching you from the get go, you always reminded me of my of beginnings, I also learned on flying wings.
Watching you grow has ben a blast for me.

Keep it up slacker.

[brosius85]

thanks CK, although i guess i have to admit i came across ritewing by chance more than research, i feel very lucky for it. the IYF handled an ungodly amount of abuse and with only a few repairs i was able to keep abusing it, it only got retired when i moved on the zephyr.

now that i actually understand the difference between a wing that flies ok and a wing that flies AWESOME, i would gladly put the ZII against any other wing out there. it is so forgiving and loves extra weight, and needs hardly any reflex so it is efficient as anything. im loving it.

i set it back up for 6s and 6600 yesterday and after a 15 minute flight it still had 11.7v in each of the batts!!!! 60% by my calculations, thats pretty good on a crappy master airscew 7x5 if you ask me. and it wasn't all putting around either.

[volto]

Haha nice vids brosius, makes me wish I started with an EPP wing, every time I crashed I had to re-build the plane :D

[brosius85]

i just joined an elite club - the "i wrote off a ZII into the ocean while night flying" club. and no the go pro was not recording.

video starts as i'm on my way back to the shore with my new ZII rescuing buddy.

video will be online in a few hours i think.

ZII is toast, its yet to be seen what hardware it took with it.

looks like the wing bent a little, that pulled out one of the horns from the elevon, the rest is history. high speed spiral at the ocean.

[roberto]

OMG . nooooooooooooool

[Pooch]

i just joined an elite club - the "i wrote off a ZII into the ocean while night flying" club. and no the go pro was not recording.

video starts as i'm on my way back to the shore with my new ZII rescuing buddy.

video will be online in a few hours i think.

ZII is toast, its yet to be seen what hardware it took with it.

looks like the wing bent a little, that pulled out one of the horns from the elevon, the rest is history. high speed spiral at the ocean.

Shit! That sucks man.

:(

[meme]

i just joined an elite club - the "i wrote off a ZII into the ocean while night flying" club. and no the go pro was not recording.

video starts as i'm on my way back to the shore with my new ZII rescuing buddy.

video will be online in a few hours i think.

ZII is toast, its yet to be seen what hardware it took with it.

looks like the wing bent a little, that pulled out one of the horns from the elevon, the rest is history. high speed spiral at the ocean.

Sorry to hear that!

[nick_75au]

And this is why I do boats:)

Sorry to hear that:(, Night flying, wow, going up a level?

On another note in reply, Im going to be happy to float around, I am going to have enough on my plate just learning to fly, Is the Bixler or Floater Jet suitable to fly on say a baseball sized field, just thinking of the most convenient site walking distance from home for arvo sessions.

Nick

[Hans]

Nasty :(

I had to put my cat down two weeks ago. I bet it feels just the same.

[brosius85]

some clarification- i was not FPVing at the time, i had just had a 25 minute FPV flight where i pushed my RC range to the limit, which is very close to my video link range too. failsafed it and everything.

landed, it was pitch black (video link showed good light, the 420XV is a nice cam) so i decided to put on a nigh flyer show for the mob of drunk teenagers at the beach. pushed it too hard, she death spiralled into the sea about 150m away.

im not too upset right now.... we will see how i feel about it in the morning haha

lucky i still have a spare zephyr, i might take it back to 3s though LOL


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l7QUF0z0mk&feature=youtu.be

[Trappy]

ssassen and SENTRY take note! :)

sorry to hear about the loss. In order to prevent that from happening, make sure your elevons do not move as freely as they do now. By taping them on a bit stiffer and have them "default" to a bit of reflex, you can usually control the plane enough to get her back. Maybe not at night, maybe not flying visually, though. But definitely in FPV.

[brosius85]

that is a really good idea.

maybe even use some high tensile steel sheet or springsteel wire to hold them with a tad of reflex so if something lets go its not flapping in the breeze.

i have a Z bend on the servo end, soldered clevises, an aluminium horn.... the weakest link was the screws holding the horn on. if they had a backplate they would be much stronger. im going for a bigger gauge screw next time with a sheet metal backplate on the horn. even if the wing folds it will stay attached.

[Trappy]

just get a fiberglass horn and epoxy it in there. It's the TBS way. we used to get away with 5mm of insert into the flaps. now we go through almost all the way. we've seen it let go, but that was on 400m drops directly into the ground (they let go AFTER it hit the ground :) )

[Moelich]

A trick I've seen done by Crash Test Hobbies (on combat wings) is to insert the horn from the back of the elevon through a slit, and glue it flush with the elevon. This way, even if the glue comes loose, the horn can't come off all the way and you'll still have some degree of control. If you want I can draw a little peekcha.

[brosius85]

no its ok. the elevons on th e zeph are about 10mm thick, you would need a massive massive horn for that to work.

[whakahere]

Can't believe the new year has started with two down planes into the sea. Sorry for your loss mate and 2000watt just seems mad :D

Are you going to get it flying again or is it finished?

[volto]

That doesn't look too bad, some gorilla glue and it should be airworthy again. The electronics though... saltwater sucks. :S

[jimmaplesong]

shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit bro..

[brosius85]

who has experience could busting with mhz? whenever i was getting close to the thick cloud layer last night i was getting failsafes spoiling my chances of getting through. my video was not coping very well either but i can cope with being blind, its just the plane drops when i get a f.s. ......

[Trappy]

shouldn't be a problem I've cloud-busted on MHz before. the problem is the link may not be as stable, with a non-digital link that can cause glitches. don't bust clouds, by the way, fly around then over them. Flying directly through clouds is asking for a major fail anyway.

[Danub]

PHUCK!! Sorry to hear bout that. . . hope the gear loss isn't too bad!!
Get out the rice ;)

[brosius85]

yep there was no way around these clouds, it was a thick layer. i would never choose entering from the base of a cloud if i had other options :)

maybe they were so thick i was multipathing off them???

[ENOFLYER]

too bad about the loss... but look on the bright side that beachfront you fly from looks like heaven on Earth

[SENTRY]

ssassen and SENTRY take note! :)

sorry to hear about the loss. In order to prevent that from happening, make sure your elevons do not move as freely as they do now. By taping them on a bit stiffer and have them "default" to a bit of reflex, you can usually control the plane enough to get her back. Maybe not at night, maybe not flying visually, though. But definitely in FPV.

Sander stole my idea - so I backed off on the big power Z2. Not to mention, Bro did it before us all - and it actually was very successful IMO. It just requires 1000 times more pre/post flight I think. Just having come off a flight, I'll assume that he didn't do a post - seems he went right back up again. People ask why I'm always driving "the slow cars" around town - (they know I have big power cars) and this is an example of why. 1 Saturday night cruise showing off for the locals is 2 days on the lift in the garage - LOL.

So due to Bro completeing my idea (even before he started his big power Z2 I had mine in the works) and Sanders adopting the idea after I mentioned it to him - I won't take my Z2 north or 800 watts.

[SENTRY]

who has experience could busting with mhz? whenever i was getting close to the thick cloud layer last night i was getting failsafes spoiling my chances of getting through. my video was not coping very well either but i can cope with being blind, its just the plane drops when i get a f.s. ......

Here is some cloud tech for you - most of the rules apply for mhz as well. Committ my narrations to memory BEFORE you try it - at the time it should be natural, you should know the rules BEFORE the 1st time. This is stock Fatsharks - so not even 3dBi. :)


http://vimeo.com/29489537

This next one highlights what Trappy is mentioning. You find a hole - hit it, and THEN get over them. the beginning of this video starts with a failed bust attempt. 2nd attempt I punched through. Remember... IN the clouds sucks - OVER them sucks less. Note I didn't say that over them DOESN'T suck - I said it sucks LESS. Why? Video/control link budgets gets eaten alive based on total distance from yourself and how much moisture is in the clouds. This video highlights how to hit a hole for busting - and how to find a hole to come home in:


http://vimeo.com/29683153

This last one there are really only 2 things you need to see

1) the 1st 60 seconds.
--> This highlights the challenges (video) that you can have when the clouds/fog are full of moisture. You can bet that control will suffer as well. Try 50mHz for more penetration if you can in your country.

2) 12:30 minutes
--> I try to descend here through the cloud. My experience told me that while I was IN the cloud video would suffer (as well as control if you're not on a LRS) - normally I have the sack to tough it out and wait for better video when I fall out of the bottom of the cloud. I rarely abort due to video when I descend - but you can see that this shit was bawss. I had to climb, regain video - and then attempt a different descent (plan B). LOL. NOTE: point blank range and 40% - 60% on the DragonLink during the descent. So what do you think it would have done to mhz? :) But note my plan b descent was without issue. So you see me use Trappy's comment (find a hole) to pop through on the 2nd attempt.


http://vimeo.com/29731146

[SENTRY]

Oh - and one thing to know about clouds... and this is one of the most important. KNOW WHEN IT'S NOT YOUR DAY, and abort. Play it safe - if you can't get over them safely abort. Just be patient, keep some batteries charged and be ready to mobilize if you see some that look promising on another day.

[brosius85]

thanks for the help sentry. the low gain suff you do is amazing. i go blind even before i hit the cloud :/ (depending on the cloud)

im on 36mhz in australia so i think that supposedly penetrates even better than 50.

i will study your lessons for a few days i think. :) cheers

[roberto]

a foam plane will never die :)

[brosius85]

haha

i might be able to fix it once i can bring myself to consider flying it again

it will be one ugly bird if i do.

[timnilson]

Sorry about your ocean crash!!! I am stunned that the LEDs were still going. I once ditched my Zeph into the Ocean (well, first into a tree and from there into the ocean) and everything fried -- the ESC burned up, the lipos, everything. Whatever did not die immediately died afterward from the salt water. Total loss of all electronics (EZOSD, Video TX, EZUHF RX, ESC, SERVOS, LIPOS, DX201...) So I know what it feels like and it ain't fun. Here is one moment where you look like the smart one flying with the original GoPro case when most don't :)

Great videos on the first page. I watched many of them over time, but never in one logical progression. Nicely done.

[aaron_gx]

haha

i might be able to fix it once i can bring myself to consider flying it again

it will be one ugly bird if i do.
Repair that bird, you hear? The ugly ones fly far better. ;)

[brosius85]

@ aaron LOL

thanks tim, i will see if the lipos balance today, then check the esc and motor and RX tonight. i have high hopes for the Vtx and camera as they were not plugged in. if all the electronic stuff is dead thats $600 down the drain, but i am pretty sure most of it is fine. maybe the RX and ESC but the rest should be fine i think.

got a funny video out of it regardless.

as far as times for it to drop out of the sky it could have been much much worse.

[kev.au]

Hey mate, if your camera is dead i have a 5v fatshark camera you can have :).

[brosius85]

very kind :) i will find out tonight.

[brosius85]

this was my last FPV ZII flight

tried busting clouds, not enough range to complete mission


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGEj12xraTQ&feature=youtu.be

[MileHunter]

Nice Video Brosius, sure sorry to see your monster Zeph break up. I am looking for a FPV recorder also. I can get the 480p resolution Hard disk recorder, but I was holding out for a higher FPV resolution if that is possible, if they make such a recorder like the 480p in a 720p.

this was my last FPV ZII flight

tried busting clouds, not enough range to complete mission

[Scotttu]

Nice Video Brosius, sure sorry to see your monster Zeph break up. I am looking for a FPV recorder also. I can get the 480p resolution Hard disk recorder, but I was holding out for a higher FPV resolution if that is possible, if they make such a recorder like the 480p in a 720p.

I'm planning on just using my laptop to beign with. I bought a USB input that takes RCA connectors - dang if I can recall where I got it (ebay) - you have to buy the Windows 7 version for Win7, etc - I used it on my first setup and it worked well.

http://www.amazon.com/EasyCAP-Audio-Capture-Surveillance-Dongle/dp/B000Z4AQFU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1326214009&sr=1-1

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/419A-bAQcmL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[SENTRY]

this was my last FPV ZII flight

tried busting clouds, not enough range to complete mission



This is the safe way to cloud bust and keep your link budget.

1) Wait. You have to wait for the "right" cloud(s) to come within your radio range. Either right on top of you, or with a hole to pop up through.

2) Launch : Knowing when to launch is key - the clouds are very dynamic - holes open up and close quickly if there is high wind. Also - remem the wind direction at ALL times. Don't get tunnel vision.

3) Form. With limited range - stay within 1 - 1.5 miles. So fly out a mile - good throttle - 45 degree bank. Going into the wind gets you FREE elevation w/out blowing down your link budget. The problem with the headwind is making sure that you are not getting blown backwards. At 1 mile, turn back towards yourself - same MO -- 45 degrees. Here's a trick though... if you are now in a tailwind - pull back on throttle and keep the same angle of attack - you now get "help" (taillwind) so you can save some pack on the inbound run. Once you get on top of yourself, turn back outbound and setup for the into the wind run again - repeat this. You have now went a few miles, climbed a SHIT ton - but still have the equivalent of point blank link budget - and saved the pack. Speaking of budget and packs - you will need both for cloud play :)

Here is an example of using a stiff headwind to climb - notice I am still in the park (no real range was achieved_ but I am climbing at a retarded speed.


http://vimeo.com/32830400

[aeryck]

I'm planning on just using my laptop to beign with. I bought a USB input that takes RCA connectors - dang if I can recall where I got it (ebay) - you have to buy the Windows 7 version for Win7, etc - I used it on my first setup and it worked well.

http://www.amazon.com/EasyCAP-Audio-Capture-Surveillance-Dongle/dp/B000Z4AQFU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1326214009&sr=1-1

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/419A-bAQcmL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Thats what i use for capturing, using VirtualDub as the capture software. Works great, have recorded every flight i did, minus one... which sucks because the ONE flight i didnt record was the one flight i set my personal record of 2.75 miles heh. Still had plenty of link budget but wanted to make sure i had battery for the return trip.

[Airborne]

The driver disk should include drivers for 32 bit Win7. Drivers for 64 bit versions of Windows can be found on this page:

http://www.sabrent.com/downloads.php

Scroll down and look for USB-AVCPT (the one without EMP audio)

Virtual Dub works great with this device. If you decide to use it, make sure to set video compression to MotionJPEG or DV-AVI before you start capturing. It will default to uncompressed YUY2 which uses about 1GB every minute.

[Scotttu]

Thanks - I use it on my laptop which is 32 bit, but not sure what I used to capture last time!! I think it came on the disk with it...and I cleaned my laptop a while back....
I can always use an external drive, slows things down though..got a 120 gig drive with 80 gigs free...should be adequate.

Virtual Dub free?

[aeryck]

Thanks - I use it on my laptop which is 32 bit, but not sure what I used to capture last time!! I think it came on the disk with it...and I cleaned my laptop a while back....
I can always use an external drive, slows things down though..got a 120 gig drive with 80 gigs free...should be adequate.

Virtual Dub free?

Yup! Free, and i think its even open source but i could be mistaken on that. For being free, it is a very powerful editor/capture tool.

[brosius85]

thanks again sentry :)

looks like i will be grounded for a while. it seems the ICE 100 is dead and so is the 420XV

no more 6s power for brosius :P

i am off to uni this week, no time to even install spare components on my old zephyr. let alone fly it

[roberto]

not good.... it´s nice to refresh a while and think about other things. you will come back stronger.

[Vindfrisk]

If you dont mind me asking why, but in in your first post you said spektrum was a bad idea. Why is that bad?

[Airborne]

A 2.4GHz receiver is more susceptible to interference from your video transmitter. A 2.4GHz receiver is closer in frequency to your video transmitter than a 72Mhz receiver, and can be desensitized ("deafened") more easily.

While the system may be capable of long distance in a traditional setup, the 2.4GHz receiver might not be able to "hear" your transmitter as far as it usually can when it has a video transmitter shouting in its other ear.

When you reach the limits of range on a 2.4 system, you generally lose all control of the model without warning, which may result in a crash. A 72MHz system can potentially warn you that you are reaching the limit. In most cases you will see visible glitching before you reach the point where signal is completely lost.

[brosius85]

^ what he said. also just for 2.4 spektrum are not the most reliable and you pay a pretty penny for their stuff.

for 2.4 gear go with futaba, and for FPV when you are certain to push the limits of your range, go with an LRS or mhz (36,72 etc.) 2.4 is asking for trouble.

the is a guy with a RTH setup who went 10km or something with spektrum but that is far from an ideal setup.

[Pooch]

^ what he said. also just for 2.4 spektrum are not the most reliable and you pay a pretty penny for their stuff.

for 2.4 gear go with futaba, and for FPV when you are certain to push the limits of your range, go with an LRS or mhz (36,72 etc.) 2.4 is asking for trouble.

the is a guy with a RTH setup who went 10km or something with spektrum but that is far from an ideal setup.

I don't know why you'd bother really, what's the point in pushing equipment that's not designed for it to that kind of extreme? It's like buying a Smart Car and entering the Paris-Dakar.

[brosius85]

now that i would love to see :D

[brosius85]

phew!

finally got some air time. it has been a long time between drinks but i am glad to say i'm back on the horse.

got the original zephyr all wired up again on 3s and a 10x5 and got a good blast around a back paddock. felt good.

of course i tried launching it with reversed channels. twice. LOL lucky shes solid!!!!

next step is to get another ZII in the mail and a nice new TBS69. what the hell. ill spoil myself this once :P

[Danub]

Good to hear you are back on the horse!! :cool:

[aeryck]

phew!

finally got some air time. it has been a long time between drinks but i am glad to say i'm back on the horse.

got the original zephyr all wired up again on 3s and a 10x5 and got a good blast around a back paddock. felt good.

of course i tried launching it with reversed channels. twice. LOL lucky shes solid!!!!

next step is to get another ZII in the mail and a nice new TBS69. what the hell. ill spoil myself this once :P

Glad to see you're back in the pilot's seat.

Reversed channels? Twice? Doesn't anyone do preflight checks anymore? =]

[FinalFrag]

Real men do pre-flights in flight :D

Crashed my ez*2 (I know, still on that level :)) because the elevator hinge was loose this weekend :)

Too bad I can't view video's at work... I'll watch your vids tonight...

[brosius85]

lol i know... im an idiot. it was the most disorganised and rushed flight i have ever had. lesson learned.

[a_marmot]

This last one there are really only 2 things you need to see

1) the 1st 60 seconds.
--> This highlights the challenges (video) that you can have when the clouds/fog are full of moisture. You can bet that control will suffer as well. Try 50mHz for more penetration if you can in your country.

2) 12:30 minutes
--> I try to descend here through the cloud. My experience told me that while I was IN the cloud video would suffer (as well as control if you're not on a LRS) - normally I have the sack to tough it out and wait for better video when I fall out of the bottom of the cloud. I rarely abort due to video when I descend - but you can see that this shit was bawss. I had to climb, regain video - and then attempt a different descent (plan B). LOL. NOTE: point blank range and 40% - 60% on the DragonLink during the descent. So what do you think it would have done to mhz? :) But note my plan b descent was without issue. So you see me use Trappy's comment (find a hole) to pop through on the 2nd attempt.

Sentry - three questions about this vid. 1) Was this LP or CP? 2) Given the difficulty of navigating the fog, why not always wait until point blank range to drop back down (which is basically what you ended up doing in this case)? 3) Why in this case did you land 100 yards from home?

[brosius85]

1) linear or circular polarity on the antenna

[a_marmot]

1) linear or circular polarity on the antenna
That is the question. Perhaps this is getting a bit off topic at this point (Sorry Bro), and deserves its own thread (cloud busting)...

[SENTRY]

Sentry - three questions about this vid. 1) Was this LP or CP? 2) Given the difficulty of navigating the fog, why not always wait until point blank range to drop back down (which is basically what you ended up doing in this case)? 3) Why in this case did you land 100 yards from home?

1) Linear

2) you answered the question yourself (kinda). There is only difficulty navigating IN the fog. My plan was to drop below it and fly around- I didn't need to be at point blank range.

3) there are roads on this field (planning for a subdivision but they never put houses up). I flew to the "fat" part of the field - basically the part of the filed that has the most grass.

[brosius85]

got my new ZII on order, i figure i may as well make it as awesome as possible :)

its going to be loaded up to the max with TBS and immersion gear. just a 600- 700w 4s setup this time. i want it to last more than a month lol

this is the scheme i have in mind at the moment
8403

[Hans]

That angry bird is challenging good fortune. Other than that, i like the design a lot!

[Trappy]

lose the stickers, man :) the troll-face is good enough :D

[aaron_gx]

Playboy bunny.

[Danub]

Awesome!! Brosius is gettin' back on the horse :cool:

[whakahere]

good to see you getting back. How much speed do you want this time? :D

[brosius85]

ahah you guys.... jeeez :p just throwing ideas around, nothing locked in just yet lol

the ZII is going to be a standard 4s setup, maybe 80mph im guessing.

i also have a Demon 40 on the way with another stupid power system, it will be somewhere around 120mph. should be close to danub's TL50 :)

they will not be getting built for some weeks though, some of the components are not even shipped yet. more time for thinkin XD

[whakahere]

Well you have time and an old zII so you could set up the prefect wire harness. I always find that the most time consuming.

[brosius85]

i have a full house TBS setup ordered; psu, tbs69cam, ezuhf rx, ez osd, all wiring basically plug and play from what i read. all i need to wire up is the power system. should be a snap.

[Trappy]

it's "solder & play" - we don't cut the cables to length because everyone builds these damn planes differently! :) we just throw in all the cabling (shielded, mind you) that is needed in a worst-case scenario and leave the rest up to you. you're a big boy though, I'm fairly comfortable you can handle it :)

[whakahere]

He is Australian so as long as he has a roll of duct tape he should cope fine. Without duct tape on hand I am more concerned. :D

[Trappy]

lol. best not solder with duct-tape though. well, I don't care, your plane ... :)

[brosius85]

ok ok im guilty of making a wiring harness with no solder :) you picked it. twist the wires and tape together haha

i was desperate though, had no tools to get airborne and had not FPV'd for over 2 months.

it was an extreme circumstance though. the new ZII is going to be treated very special.

@ trappy, if it was really plug and play the connectors would be getting cut off and soldered directly anyways :p the less plugs the better.

[a_marmot]

good to see you getting back. How much speed do you want this time? :D


ahah you guys.... jeeez :p just throwing ideas around, nothing locked in just yet lol
the ZII is going to be a standard 4s setup, maybe 80mph im guessing.
i also have a Demon 40 on the way with another stupid power system, it will be somewhere around 120mph. should be close to danub's TL50 :)
they will not be getting built for some weeks though, some of the components are not even shipped yet. more time for thinkin XD

Bro, that 6s was an awesome beast to behold! Yet I feel compelled to point out - with no judgement intended - that drag force (and thus also battery consumption) scale as speed squared. Uh... you do the math.

[brosius85]

yes im aware when pulling 1500w from my 4s 5000 i will be limited to 3 mins of full throttle ahaahaha

im here for a good time! not a long time!

[Scotttu]

Me fly you long time....

So you are in the Outback now? Love to see some vid, Australia is on my bucket list!!

[brosius85]

ok ill piece together a quick video....

this stuff will be fairly sad though, my old Z has seen better days. the batteries are just about dead after the salt water and the motor is mostly secured by zipties! :0 it has had a rough time.

to do any type of FPV justice to the area im gonna need the new gear.

[FPVdude]

you should put this on your zephr so people will be like WTF
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[brosius85]

just got a couple of packages in the mail :)

its plane building time!
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demon 40 is getting a mega motor and a CC ice 100, the ZII is getting the OEM motor and esc. both will be on 4s, but the demon is getting some 65c specials :)

[Scotttu]

Cool!! It'll be good to see you flying again!

[FPVdude]

post LOTS of pictures please! :)

[brosius85]

ok :) i might even make a few videos :)

[brosius85]

this is where i live at the moment.... i really need an osd, these locations do not lend themselves to fpv very well.

did i mention it was windy?


https://vimeo.com/39886285

[Scotttu]

Brosius that's nice! very nice!!
How'd it feel to get back on the sticks?

[brosius85]

very nervous at first but fine once i was in the air :)

[Hucker]

Lookin' good again! I envy your wide open spaces.

[BacklashRC]

Love the Pumpkins.

[Japanx]

Greets from Spain!
Plz quit university and start posting videos. Nao! :cool::cool:
I'm glad to see you are back on business mate.

Dont' know if its mentioned at any of your previous posts but id like to know more about your ground setup other than your googles (fatsharks i guess).
Related to antennas, diversity, freqs and ranges.

Hey, thank you for sharin, as usual.

Japanx.

[brosius85]

hey man :) almost finished uni. its only an associate degree :p

i have a massssive lot of goodies coming from TBS soon so the setup will be stepped up a LOT and i will be able to do all kinds of range without a problem.

at the moment my ground station is fatshark aviators with a 1600 2s + lawmate 2.4 receiver on a 2200 3s battery + 8db flat patch. my TX is a standard hitec eclipse 7 on 36mhz

the plane has a 2.4 lawmate 500mw VTX with a standard rubber ducky, and a corona synthesized RX with a 4m antenna extention. range is limited by the control at this stage, i have never gone past about 5km.

i have an EzUHF ordered and an EzOSD, so i will no longer have such terrible range limits. when money allows i will get a fpv japan DVR as the demon will not have a go pro attached.

[Japanx]

hey man :) almost finished uni. its only an associate degree :p

i have a massssive lot of goodies coming from TBS soon so the setup will be stepped up a LOT and i will be able to do all kinds of range without a problem.

at the moment my ground station is fatshark aviators with a 1600 2s + lawmate 2.4 receiver on a 2200 3s battery + 8db flat patch. my TX is a standard hitec eclipse 7 on 36mhz

the plane has a 2.4 lawmate 500mw VTX with a standard rubber ducky, and a corona synthesized RX with a 4m antenna extention. range is limited by the control at this stage, i have never gone past about 5km.

i have an EzUHF ordered and an EzOSD, so i will no longer have such terrible range limits. when money allows i will get a fpv japan DVR as the demon will not have a go pro attached.

I'm amazed. This days i was diggin for info about fatsharks and tought you were using diversity and other sci-fi stuff. i'm ready to go for the dominators, then :D

GL with Uni sir. Thank you.
Japanx.

[brosius85]

to be honest i would probably have been able to do most of the stuff i have done in the last year on the standard fatshark RX and antenna. the 8db patch is almost over the top with the type of flying i have been doing lol

once i get the uhf setup and osd i will be pushing for some solid distances though. might even need to plug in the 14db patch ;)

[brosius85]

ok all my parts have arrived (thanks trappy)

postman brought me:

TBS 69 + CORE (with currency sensor ;) )
EZ UHF TX, RX, 2x sander stlye RX antennas, Nagoya TX antenna
TBS edition EZ OSD
TBS pushrod hardware, clevis etc...

this zeph is going to kick ass.

[Transfixus]

Really enjoying watching your progress, I've only been up "goggles on" twice now so I'm several paces behind you. You've done some great flying at some beautiful places, can't wait til you get your new bird up in the sky.

[Japanx]

Finally man. Cant wait to see you up there, again.

[kev.au]

this zeph is going to kick ass.


http://pichars.org/store/8339_original_YesJackNicholson.gif

[brosius85]

started the Z2 and D40 builds.

the ZII just needs a Vtx (on the way from TBS) , the D40 needs some riteweave.

i just do not want to cover the ZII before i know it is all working flawlessly. so it's going to be all messy for a while haha

[Danub]

^ Cool Stuff. . . .Whatcha gonna power the D40 with??

[brosius85]

a mega 16/25/2 EC and a CC ICE 100 , on 4s 5000 40-50c zippys (for now) with a 6x4 sport. pretty tame setup for starters. i have some crazier props i can play with, and there is always the option of adding more cells if the urge is there ;)

i am shooting for 5 mins of WOT staying around 100mph. that should keep me happy for a while ;P

[kev.au]

Do you have a LRS, Brosius?.

[brosius85]

i just got an ezuhf :) at the moment only 1 rx though. as soon as funds allow i will grab another.

[kev.au]

Ah awesome, it's a solid product. Should make it to the clouds now :).

[brosius85]

mmmm hmmmmm! can't wait!

[a_marmot]

...to see you back in the air my friend. But enjoy the path while you are on it!

[brosius85]

the build is well and truly started.

i thought i would try a few new things with this build, i cut out the batts and ESC all the way through and then cut the bottom out.

problem 1:i think i need to shorten my battery leads AGAIN ...... and i really think it would be almost impossible to get a current sensor in there the way i have it laid out so its going to be a HK simple osd for this bird :(

if i had my time again i think i would get a smaller esc LITE version, and run the batts normal ie: not in a y config.

1189711896

[Danub]

hehe I like the cutout. . . Interesting ESC positioning. . . . are you going to give it an intake for cooling?
OH and if U wanna go 6S in the future I got a 1400kv rokett motor with 2 flights on it I just might be able to part with ;)

[brosius85]

yep there is going to be a complete open window where the esc heatsink is exposing it to air :)

why in the world would you not be flying that roket???

[nellik]

problem 1:i think i need to shorten my battery leads AGAIN ...... and i really think it would be almost impossible to get a current sensor in there the way i have it laid out so its going to be a HK simple osd for this bird :(


May I suggest rotating the batteries 180° so that the power feeds from one of the outboard corners? That gives you room to make up a small Y harness and solder to a current sensor + makes plugging the batteries in easier. It's how I run mine on my Scout Bee.

[brosius85]

thanks for the idea nellik :) might be worth a try

[Danub]

why in the world would you not be flying that roket???
I got that huge honkin' Mega from murdnunoc :cool:
Waitin' on HK for some Nanotechs and epicness will follow.

[brosius85]

haha murd is da man!

here is where i got up to today.....


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nearly all cut in! then i gotta glue the coro down, glue the servos in, glue the motor mount, and it's time for riteweave and 90! woo hoo

[FPVdude]

How did you figure out where to cut the batts prior to maiden flight?

[brosius85]

i got them as far forward as i could. it's not a zephyr. its going to have about 5 layers of glue and woven fabric before the maiden flight. it will probably need lead to balance even though i have the batts and the motor as far forward as possible.

[Scotttu]

Wow, that Castle ICe is nice - going to be heavy though but that's going to be one fast plane....

[brosius85]

as far as demons go its actually pretty light :)

[aaron_gx]

Lets go ambrose! Those are looking killer. cant wait to see some footage from those new birds!

[brosius85]

yeah bro :) i can't wait eitherr haha :)

more pics :P :P :P

1201812019

[brosius85]

more pics

1205812059

she's about ready for a whole lot of 90 and weave :) then next weekend its lam, elevons+ winglets, vinyl, stickers, install motor and rx, then maiden! woo hoo!

[Scotttu]

If it were me..........I would get some fiberglass 8oz cloth and epoxy mixed up and lay a good 8" x 8" patch on the bottom....I can tell you feel the need....the need for speed!

that's 2 4s/5000's and a Castle ICE 100, HOLY SMOKES.....:)

[brosius85]

no, they are 2s 5000's :D in series for 4s

the bottom was prepped with a gorilla glue and riteweave (kinda like FG cloth) which adds a heap of durability, then the bottom is covered in 90 and weave, then 2 more layers of 90+weave from the CG forward.

the top is a similar story, 90+ weave over the whole thing, then 2 extra layers from the CG forward. then a cap layer over the whole leading edge.

then laminate!

[FPVdude]

What powers the vtx? Core? Also what cam? It looks AWESOME! Can't wait! :)

[injector]

What powers the vtx? Core? Also what cam? It looks AWESOME! Can't wait! :)

Looks like a small castle UBEC, but it could be wrong.

[ritewing]

Outline all your lids with a sharpie before you start, then once glassed you can find then to cut them out bro.

[brosius85]

the castle BEC is just for the RX, the camera and VTX will have a seperate 3s 1000. the camera is a 420osd cam from RMRC. im using a simple HK osd on this one. it's gonna be all close flying with the demon.

thanks for the reminder CK ill make sure i do :)

[brosius85]

1209412095


3m90 and weave are all done :) i'll cut the camera in after the laminate and vinyl. a few little jobs to do now. XT60's on the ICE 100 ready for 2x 2s 5000's in series for 4s

[Scotttu]

Brosius I gotta ask - why did you choose to run 2S/5000's vs 3S/xxxx ?//

[brosius85]

6s is just too much. i only want about 1000w for starters, so 4s is heaps. if i was going 6s i would have to build the demon a lot heavier, with more spar and weave, and a bigger motor... it would just end up a monster especially with the FPV equipment adding a heap of weight too.

im aiming for 1000w and 110 mph for 5 mins, if i went 6s with 1500 -2000w it would be more like 150mph for 3 mins, and would be harder to fly.

you did realise its 4s right? not 2s 10000 haha

[injector]

Brosius I gotta ask - why did you choose to run 2S/5000's vs 3S/xxxx ?//

He's got the batteries wires in series

[Scotttu]

I realize all that but if you ran 2 4S batteries you would have the same weight and with them in parallel ...yeah I see your point, parallel you would only have about 10000w at 4S...

But 2S is 2S/5000 since they are in series vs two 4S/5000's which would give you 10,000...

[brosius85]

the airfoil only allows for a 20mm thick battery. if i went 4s i would have to move them back further and that would make the CG even harder to get

i could have used these: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__11916__Turnigy_nano_tech_2650mah_4S_25_50C_Lipo_ Pack.html but they are not in the aus warehouse and i would have to wait even longer :( and they are 4mm thickr, athough they are a tiny bit lighter and more MAH

so as you can see the ones i went with http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__14691__Turnigy_5000mAh_2S_40C_Lipo_Pack_AUS_Ware house_.html are the logical choice

in short- i needed them to fit in the thinnest cutout, thats why im using 2s 5000's in series. it is 2x as heavy if i was gonna use 2x 4s 5000's LOL, the other option is 2x 4s 2500, but they would not fit.

[ritewing]

Now sand it some , then give it a skim coat of gorilla glue with no water.
Baby sit the gorilla for about an hr.
Then sand smooth the next day, then give it some paint , then 90 then lam

[brosius85]

can i just lam it? i wanna keep it pretty light :) gorilla and paint might make CG even harder....

[ritewing]

Do you have the new build dvd?
Skim coat will add negligible weight , dont worry.
Do it top and bottom over the bays lids and thin spots.
You need it anyways, it wont hinder your CG , you usually need to add the weight to ballance.
You have no strength in the center of your plane, the skim coat on the top and bottom will make it strong , it will help it hold it shape and keep it durable and true.
I will have to do a vid to show how to do this to the ZII without using 3 m 90 ,its not that hard and adds no real weight.

[brosius85]

ok ill add a bit :) no - my DVD seems to be the old one. it's from about 18 months ago.

i might add a strip of weave and gorilla over the spar on the zII aswell like you say - it's not much weight and its a lot of stiffness.

[brosius85]

thought i better update the demon build.....

followed the guru's advice, gave it a coat of gorilla (and then some filler) sanded it all down, now she's ready for paint. next job will be lam and elevons.

12411

and the paint scheme

12412

[jimmaplesong]

Lookin' good Bro! Snackattractor needs some company up there on Youtube. Besides you haven't shown us your inland home yet.
I just got my ZII tuned up... and I used riteweave with 3M90. It's already saved the wing twice I'm pretty sure.

[brosius85]

this was the only vid i have of where i am at the moment..... not rally the same caliber as the beach location lol


https://vimeo.com/39886285


you used 90 on the ZII!?!? didn't it dissolve the foam?!??!

[Danub]

:cool:. . . . waiting for maiden ;)

[Danub]

LOL longest wait in history. . . . Good to see you back on the sticks!!
What is your sick fascination about flyin over H2O??? You got balls :cool:

[jimmaplesong]

Hell Yeah Brosius! That's the good stuff. I didn't realize you had stuff on vimeo all this time.

The 90 worked just fine on the Z II. But I didn't spray it on directly. What I did was stretch out a long piece of riteweave on a clean piece of cardboard, then spray the riteweave. I put just a medium-thin layer over the whole length and let it sit and out-gas and tack up for 20-30 seconds. Then I peeled it off the cardboard, and stretched it onto the Z II. You don't get much chance to move it once it's down :) I only had the glue on the one side, and the texture shows through the lam, so next time I'm gonna do the gorilla without water over the top of it suggestion that Chris made... smoother texture and stronger no doubt.

[brosius85]

danub- that vid is all original zephyr. it has seen better days. it's pretty beat up, and all those flights were in really windy locations. where i am now i can't just fly when the weather is nice, i have v. limited opportunity so when i do it's usually shitty weather.

maiden of the demon and new ZII should be in the next month..... depends on a lot of things. including about 5 massive exams :( :( :(

[Danub]

^ I see said the king of the short bus. LOL I didn't realize the old girl was still kickin'
Ehhh quit your school and grow your hair long. . . . . oh wait you already did that. Good luck with exams ;)

[brosius85]

this thing is gonna look SWEEEET

12432

[kev.au]

"Puts sunglasses on" Looking good baby!. You adding any LEDs to this one?.

[brosius85]

nope. im not even gong to pretend it's coming out in anything other than perfect conditions. night flying is asking for a crash (in my experience LOL)

[wasper67]

Your plane looks great! I been watching in anticipation to see your d40 in action. I got a d40 with the group buy and I think I will copy your setup if you like yours...I love seeing your videos you have inspired me to want to travel to your country for vacation!

[brosius85]

awesome :) there are plenty of cool things to see :D they are spread out over a really really big area haha

[brosius85]

(this is a demon 40)

pretty much all built :) :) :)

just gotta glue on the winglets and program the radio. then it's maiden time!

if it all goes well the camera will go on and the Vtx will be stuffed in there too. cant wait to FPV this thing!


1246212463

124641246512466

[a_marmot]

pretty much all built :) :) :)
just gotta glue on the winglets and program the radio. then it's maiden time!
if it all goes well the camera will go on and the Vtx will be stuffed in there too. cant wait to FPV this thing!


...nor can I wait for your recap. That little bugger looks *F A S T*. Good luck on the maiden!

[wasper67]

Sweet! I anxious to see some d40 FPV speed records!

[brosius85]

it will only have a simple osd, so the only speed readings we get will be doppler.

it's a bit like drag racing, if you are looking at your MPH you are gonna crash :P

it's looking like a bit of a brick at the moment - it's gonna take 350g of lead to get it to ballance! i should have gone for 4s 6000! :O


this is a demon 40, not a zephyr :)
12545

[Danub]

it's looking like a bit of a brick at the moment - it's gonna take 350g of lead to get it to ballance! :O
12545
!!! R U Serious. . . . . Whoa! Thats a lotta lead.

[wasper67]

it will only have a simple osd, so the only speed readings we get will be doppler.

it's a bit like drag racing, if you are looking at your MPH you are gonna crash :P

it's looking like a bit of a brick at the moment - it's gonna take 350g of lead to get it to ballance! i should have gone for 4s 6000! :O

12545

Just curious was it front or rear heavy?

[brosius85]

wayyyyyyy rear heavy

i could move the motor forward but that will make it a lot louder and the motor will not keep as cool

total weight is around 2kg at the moment RTF

[wasper67]

I hate it when they are off that much, when you plan so hard...I did the same thing on my Zepher, I got a little carried away with the Rite weave and PU and it ended up as a pig, on its final flight it slammed into the ground so hard it dug a crater...LOL

[Danub]

wayyyyyyy rear heavy

i could move the motor forward but that will make it a lot louder and the motor will not keep as cool

total weight is around 2kg at the moment RTF
I don't have a 40 but my 50 is nooo problem @ almost 3kg. . . . actually a very smooth flier at that weight.
I know you got gobbs of power on there so I'm sure she'll do very very well. . . . . I'm seriously interested to see how she works out as I have been thinking about a LCD40 ;)

[BCSaltchucker]

Love the 'Roo badges

I did likewise, but with maple leaves

curiously, mine came in exactly balanced. But it was purely dumb luck. Used to be pretty, but after many flights and rebuilds it sure is ugly now, and yet it flies better.

[ritewing]

The Demon is made to be like that , add what you need to balaance it bro, please do not hack it to move the motor.
I have never had them ballance on just batteries, its usually needs a ton of lead , even on 6s 4000.
That is why I always say go 6s, on 4s you are adding a ton.

[brosius85]

no wories CK, i was never under any illusions about what it would be like. i will see what it feels like on the 6x4, i might go a little bigger :)

[ritewing]

No bigger than a 6/5 or 6.5 / 4 to 5
The Demon will not fly well on anything larger.

[brosius85]

yeah i think a 7 would fry my motor anyways, i was thinking maybe a 6x5 or 6x5.5

[ritewing]

6/4 apc sport will work great

[FPVdude]

if its easy, move the motor forward, but don't go out of your way....
you should add a hd cam with that 350 g! would add a lot of drag but it might be fun for 1 or 2 flights.
also could you make the bays bigger for bigger batts?

[a_marmot]

Hey Bro, you still have that IYF44? If so, is it rigged for FPV?

[brosius85]

the IYF was crashed and rebuilt about 10 times. it is way overweight, has a broken wing spar and generally flies like a busted arse. i still have it somewhere but it's never been FPV'd. it's basically retired, i have not flown it for over 6 months.

i would love another one, but probably not for FPV. they are just so much fun to fly IN YO FACE :D

[a_marmot]

Indeed, but (as you know) I've been garnering immense pleasure flying FPV right into my own (and others) face(s) with an IYF30. Unfortunately its wing area is a bit scant for this purpose, so wondering if you'd ever converted the 44 to FPV, garnering any transferable wisdom from that experience. My other motivation is the loss of the IYF30, which, sadly, met its demise about 3000 feet up a cliff (sacrificing its life for the benefit of my DVR)...

[brosius85]

i think if you follow TBS closely they will have something extremely relevant to your interests in a week or 2. seriously.

[Hucker]

My other motivation is the loss of the IYF30, which, sadly, met its demise about 3000 feet up a cliff (sacrificing its life for the benefit of my DVR)...

That sucks I loved that little guy! Your vids from Utah were really cool.

[brosius85]

130651306613067

nearly ready for the maiden.

TBS 69 covered in ice cream lid is rock solid, contoured for maximum aerodynamics :) pretty much weatherproof too

the gopro door is ziptied on through the TBS battery box, a lot more tidy than the last version, but not 100% waterproof.

pretty close to being finished

[FPVdude]

I plan to attatch the gopro like that except use the normal waterproof case, and cover the back in velcro then cover a piece of plywood in the plane with velcro, that way its waterproof
ZII looks great, hows the demon going?

[roberto]

nice work BRO. can´w wait for some vids.

[whakahere]

looking very nice mate. looking forward to your videos. Get it tuned and then go hard! :D

[brosius85]

I plan to attatch the gopro like that except use the normal waterproof case, and cover the back in velcro then cover a piece of plywood in the plane with velcro, that way its waterproof
ZII looks great, hows the demon going?

you will want more than just velcro.. it will fall off for sure.

the demon is ready for a maiden too, i just want to warm up the thumbs flying the ZII a little before i go on the demon. i am a little afraid of it haha

[Scotttu]

Hey Brosius - a buddy of mine from the bathtub racing days is dodwn your way - doing the Avon Descent - That looks SPOOKY dangerous...

[brosius85]

it might be a good time to add some pics of what i did on this build... im pretty happy with how it has turned out so far.

[brosius85]

a couple of the topside spar

[brosius85]

maiden tomorrow. she balanced perfect with no ballast

http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/attachments/3/4/0/0/0/3/a5070797-85-2012-08-09%2015.45.49.jpg

[Netherfly]

What's wrapped in tinfoil left of the battery bay?

http://fpvlab.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=13128&d=1344160995

[brosius85]

the CC 10A BEC, not sure if it does anything but it was just a precaution. it's pretty close to the RX

[FPVdude]

is the tinfoil grounded? i have a bec in a similar position

[jimmaplesong]

So what does the weather look like? When we gonna have a maiden?!?!

[brosius85]

no tinfoil is not grounded...

the maiden went absolutely perfect, FPV flying was minimal however, my goggles had a loose plug... hopefully fly again this afternoon and get some sweet cloud action.

i also have the D40 maiden to get around to.... i am a bit afraid of it haha

[FPVdude]

just curious why do you have the coro skids on the zephr so far apart?

[brosius85]

hmmm.... i cant remember :)

im sure there was a perfectly logical reason it evades me at the moment though haha

[wasper67]

Looking great, cant wait to see it fly...Also waiting on your D40 progress!

[brosius85]

demon 40 is maidened successfully!!! this thing is a ROCKET!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orN48wtUiKA&feature=youtu.be

[Hans]

Damn that's fast! congrats on the maiden :) I love the way you weigh it in your hand in an olympic way before tossing it in the air.

[brosius85]

lol - it does not have much static thrust, i was kind of shitting myself... turns out there was no need to worry!

[ritewing]

Bro I would say it does still have a 1.5 to one or better thrust ratio at wide open.

[ritewing]

Here is some fun


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGQ8tTkGvVM

[brosius85]

NICE!

[wasper67]

BRAVO!...WOW VERY FAST! ..I cant wait to see some low flying fpv footage at those speeds! I see why you were nervous, not much relaxing while you fly that thing LOS!

[Moelich]

demon 40 is maidened successfully!!! this thing is a ROCKET!

It's funny how you take a few steps towards the wing after each pass. You'll have to walk a wee bit faster than that to keep up though!

[ritewing]

Its like that when you fly a Demon, you just get into a zombie state of concentration.
You will cringe a flinch while you are flying.
Great Job Bro!!

[brosius85]

my legs start to shake from the adrenaline if i don't start walking :P

i had another fly of the ZII today... scared the shit outta me real bad.

after plugging it all in and letting the Ez OSD get 6 or so sats and aligned the ptach all ready to go, i tossed it up and flew up about 60m high and transitioned to goggles, all was fine.
so i thought i would not venture out too far but would try for a heap of altitude... i was about 450m out and 250m high and the video just...... cut...... out!!!! i honestly can't remeber what i did after that or if the video was out for 1/2 a second or 2 seconds, all i know is i crapped my pants and came back as quick as i could... after spotting the plane i flew it LOS and landed, then wiggled everything and shook everything, banged on the wing a few times etc to try to replicate the video going out.... i could not duplicate it.

plugging in the batts again and the Ez OSD is acting up.... cant set home properly, misreading the current draw etc just being a real prick for about a minute or 2.... eventually it sets home properly and i go up for another LOS flight

i swap to the goggles only for a few seconds so i can see if i can catch the video bombing out again but no luck.

so i land and go home.....

i need to bring someone along to watch the video while i fly because i am sure there is something fishy going on here... hopefully it was just outside interference but i was not expecting any on LM 2.4 ch8 .... components are TBS69, EzOSD, TBS CORE, Lm 500mw 2.4 Vtx, EzUHF, GoPro onboard (just for recording), analogue HK MG servos, CC BEC (wrapped in tinfoil), Plush 60 ESC, ritewing outrunner...... throttle position does nothing to video... i don't know what it could be..... :(:(:( all my cables are sheilded and the video was absolutely PERFECT except for the cutouts which went dead black for just a moent or 2....

[aaron_gx]

Got anything to record your video feed? Fly Los and post up some footage.

[Scotttu]

my legs start to shake from the adrenaline if i don't start walking :P

i had another fly of the ZII today... scared the shit outta me real bad.

after plugging it all in and letting the Ez OSD get 6 or so sats and aligned the ptach all ready to go, i tossed it up and flew up about 60m high and transitioned to goggles, all was fine.
so i thought i would not venture out too far but would try for a heap of altitude... i was about 450m out and 250m high and the video just...... cut...... out!!!! i honestly can't remeber what i did after that or if the video was out for 1/2 a second or 2 seconds, all i know is i crapped my pants and came back as quick as i could... after spotting the plane i flew it LOS and landed, then wiggled everything and shook everything, banged on the wing a few times etc to try to replicate the video going out.... i could not duplicate it.

plugging in the batts again and the Ez OSD is acting up.... cant set home properly, misreading the current draw etc just being a real prick for about a minute or 2.... eventually it sets home properly and i go up for another LOS flight

i swap to the goggles only for a few seconds so i can see if i can catch the video bombing out again but no luck.

so i land and go home.....

i need to bring someone along to watch the video while i fly because i am sure there is something fishy going on here... hopefully it was just outside interference but i was not expecting any on LM 2.4 ch8 .... components are TBS69, EzOSD, TBS CORE, Lm 500mw 2.4 Vtx, EzUHF, GoPro onboard (just for recording), analogue HK MG servos, CC BEC (wrapped in tinfoil), Plush 60 ESC, ritewing outrunner...... throttle position does nothing to video... i don't know what it could be..... :(:(:( all my cables are sheilded and the video was absolutely PERFECT except for the cutouts which went dead black for just a moent or 2....


What video connector are you using - THOSE ARE THE EXACT SYMPTOMS I HAD!!!

And you know what my outcome was.

Check the receptacle on your Vtx - if it's cracked internally use some hot glue or something to keep that plug in - same damn symptoms, EZOSD acting up, video cut out...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUfh-T-svaQSibmDris8xL2A&v=oMoUbLukIxw&feature=player_detailpage

[brosius85]

Thanks scott , that is identical to my video... Scary shit. Ill re do all my connections this week

[brosius85]

i set out to fly the ZII again yesterday and have the missus keep an eye on the video to see if the blackouts were persisting.... and i forgot the battery for the video receiver... :(

but i had a good flight with the D40, so good in fact that i decided to set it up for FPV :)

i also wired up the super simple OSD to monitor both video battery and flight battery voltage.

pics show the safety wire on the motor heatsink, carbon covered pushrods and the RMRC 420 OSD camera.

http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/attachments/3/4/0/0/0/3/a5085438-248-2012-08-16%2008.30.08.jpghttp://static.rcgroups.net/forums/attachments/3/4/0/0/0/3/a5085437-20-2012-08-16%2008.29.48.jpghttp://static.rcgroups.net/forums/attachments/3/4/0/0/0/3/a5085436-128-2012-08-16%2008.29.08.jpg

[Danub]

^ Nice!!

[brosius85]

:)

only thing lacking is going to be any recorded video from it..... the only thing i can think of is to set up my mobile phone taped to the goggles haha

i'll be ordering a FPVajpan DVR in the next few weeks though.

maybe i should just tape the gopro to the top of it :P although im sure it would affect the high speed handling pretty badly :/

[FPVdude]

:)

only thing lacking is going to be any recorded video from it..... the only thing i can think of is to set up my mobile phone taped to the goggles haha

lol yes please show us pictures of it :D

[wasper67]

I cant wait to see this in fpv! I plan to copy your setup soon!

[aaron_gx]

:)

only thing lacking is going to be any recorded video from it..... the only thing i can think of is to set up my mobile phone taped to the goggles haha

i'll be ordering a FPVajpan DVR in the next few weeks though.

maybe i should just tape the gopro to the top of it :P although im sure it would affect the high speed handling pretty badly :/

For HD recording on the d40, I would seriously suggest a keychain hd cam with a wide angle lens attached. Amazing results, very small form factor, lighter than anything else.

[brosius85]

thanks man :) might be worth a look.

[Toysrme]

What video connector are you using - THOSE ARE THE EXACT SYMPTOMS I HAD!!!

And you know what my outcome was.

Check the receptacle on your Vtx - if it's cracked internally use some hot glue or something to keep that plug in - same damn symptoms, EZOSD acting up, video cut out...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUfh-T-svaQSibmDris8xL2A&v=oMoUbLukIxw&feature=player_detailpage
true that!

i got to where i use some 5 minute epoxy on the wires to the tx board. it's a lot of stress on them having just the wires shifting around. when i keep the connector to it, i epoxy that too. (5 minute loctite works pretty well. it stays fairly flexible so worst comes to worse you can peel it back off with some needle nose pliers)
i lost my sig tristar years back because the 18ga receiver battery wire had a little slack in it & spent a year slamming into a balsa bulkhead till it wore in half. so tx wires def need the extra support!

[Hucker]

Bro: it might be late for this but I think you want to increase the angle between your monopoles to something closer to 90 degrees... Or are you setting that low angle between the two to optimize for mostly level flight? I'd guess you are banking that thing at 90 degrees so getting 90 degrees spread on the monopoles should help you have a bit more margin.

[aaron_gx]

thanks man :) might be worth a look.

This was recorded with an HD keychain cam with wide angle lens. I am quite satisfied.

https://vimeo.com/39896998

https://vimeo.com/47654042

[wasper67]

Brosius
You said you can run maybe 5min WOT, whats your guest at how long you can fly if you were to fly slower say half throttle or less?
Thanks

[wasper67]

[QUOTE=aaron_gx;131808]This was recorded with an HD keychain cam with wide angle lens. I am quite satisfied.


Aaron
Which key chain cam is that, that quality is better than I had expected.

[brosius85]

if i flew extremely conservatively i think i could squeeeze 20 mins out of it, but i have the zephyr for when i want to fly for ages. the demon is mostly for massive speed runs.

is that the HK HD keychain cam aaron?

[aaron_gx]

No, the #11 from Ebay, with a cell phone wide angle lens from deal extreme. Total cost 50usd.

[brosius85]

thanks for the info!

[chicken sashimi]

Hey.. for all you keychain cam fans.. this seems to be a more recent one that looks pretty sweet. it shoots at 720p like we're used to, AVI file format output, lossless file splitting, and it comes with a choice of lens AND has video out capability, in case you're ever stuck for a flight cam or want a bit more connectivity freedom.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Mini-DVR-808-16-V2-Lens-D-Car-Key-Chain-Micro-Camera-HD-720P-Pocket-Camcorder-/180942453605

I haven't tried them yet, but since i lost both my #11 keychain cams along with my original zephyr, i'll be replacing them with these.

[Hucker]

No, the #11 from Ebay, with a cell phone wide angle lens from deal extreme. Total cost 50usd.
This needs a thread!

[Psylokz]

demon 40 is maidened successfully!!! this thing is a ROCKET!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orN48wtUiKA&feature=youtu.be

That's a serious machine you got there. A caged animal screaming to escape!

[brosius85]

the D40 get's FPV'd!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WPvK1AP6Qw&feature=youtu.be (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WPvK1AP6Qw&feature=youtu.be)

[wasper67]

Love it! I cant wait to get mine built...love that speed sensation

[Danub]

^ OH Yeah!! She's a ripper :cool:
2 weeks and the D50 should be ready for the unveiling ;)

[Rctintin]

Hey brosius, have you managed another flight yet with the Z11? Have you got that vid link sorted yet, and was it just a loose connecter?

Cheers dude

[brosius85]

nah man i have not, i am in the middly of moving and starting a new job so RC has been put on the bpttom of the list for a while. i will order a DVR this week though so i can properly troubleshoot the link without having to risk the entire plane doing it ;)

i should be flying again later in the week.

[Rctintin]

Good luck with the new job, and look forward to more vids of your fpv'ing!

[Scotttu]

I take it you moved to finish school?

ON that link, mine was the receptacle on the VTX if that helps any...it is now epoxied in :D

[brosius85]

thanks scott, the studies continue but its mostly on the job now, so i theoretically have more days off.

after seeing what happened to you i hit both the D40 and Z2 with the epoxy on the VTX connector. im not sure if that was it though..... we shall see

[aaron_gx]

hey brosius, good job on the new luck - er, I mean, - you know what I mean.

;)

[brosius85]

finally got all my shit sorted. the D40 is dialed in and i have got my FPVJapan DVR, ready to just smash out some fun flights with the D40.

here is my first real flat out over and over again flight. enjoy.


https://vimeo.com/49156281

[foreveranooblet]

Awesome! Lovin' the sound of that motor!
Were you using a linear antenna? Because the link was rock solid until you hit some of those banks.

[a_marmot]

Nice Bro. Beside the speed, I like the snappy roll action (which in my opinion what really sells smaller wings for FPV). Definite potential here.

What was the wind like that day? In the vid I did notice what seemed to be some persistent undamped waggle following quick banks, wondering if that is weather related.

[brosius85]

@forever - yep linear, with an 8db patch on the ground.

@marmot - the wind was probably about a 5mph breeze. i think i will lose a lot of the waggle when i learn to fly it smoother, and maybe dial in a bit of differential. the big antennas affect this more than the ZII aswell.

[aaron_gx]

@forever - yep linear, with an 8db patch on the ground.

@marmot - the wind was probably about a 5mph breeze. i think i will lose a lot of the waggle when i learn to fly it smoother, and maybe dial in a bit of differential. the big antennas affect this more than the ZII aswell.

Can you make winglets slightly longer out the back of the plane? That would likely help it fly straighter aswell, but might increase drag more than you want.

[a_marmot]

What's interesting about the waggle is that it is small amplitude, but seems very persistent (many oscillations before it settles out). I went back to some old footage of a 66" blunt Z1 (where the waggle can be HUGE if you don't fly it rite), and what you see is avery big waggle amplitude that nonetheless damps out very quickly, just a few oscillations. Basically "WAG Wag wa..." versus "wigy gigy gigy gigy gig gi....."

[brosius85]

lol

you guys :P

i will be putting a lot more flights on this one before i decide to alter it. to my eye it flies perfectly when i am operating it smoothly. the other thing i might be trying is differential, if only i could work out how to get it to work using a v tail mix lol.... i am pretty lazy when it comes to programming this thing. i have rudder hooked up as aileron to keep it all on the left stick and have the throttle off on the right free do do its own thing.

anywny. hopefully many more flights coming soon :)

[wasper67]

I love that plane and the sound it makes whizzing by!

[brosius85]

looks like the cross wind really smashed the waggle home on this flight!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc0ajXllwIw&feature=youtu.be

[wasper67]

WOW....yes, that is more waggle than I would like too fly!