Wind BLOWS !

[Adrenalinrush]

I have been flying for a couple of years now and started FPV this past winter. I currently have a EZ and am just not happy with it up here in the frozen, very gusty north (Michigan). I can only fly during a lul in the wind, which cuts down on flying time. I am looking for a wing (everything I hear is wings handle the wind the best and still track smooth), but am lost as I have never flown one before. I would like to cut the wind, go fast, and have a decent up time, 20 min would be great! I can keep the EZ up that long, but I was flying backwards yesterday afternoon in 10 mph wind.

I wish I would have had my splitter with me to record me panicing while I tried to get my plane from flying backwards and sideways away from me. It is quite funny now that I think about it.

I emailed CK about a Zephyr but from the looks of the build log it makes me nervous spending that much money to screw it up (and its my first wing).

I sure would like to be able to put it in the backseat of my S60 Volvo as well so I dont think I can get a 60" wing.

Airbag is doing a great job with his wings and inspired me to get rid of the EZ. I have a blizzard, and it flies great in the wind, but has ZERO room for equipment. I am completely open to suggestions, I just would love something that is great in 10-20 mph wind, fits in the back of the car, and flies for 20+ min. I have a power 10 eflight http://www.e-fliterc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=EFLM4010A not doing anything in the basement if I can work that into the plane to save a couple of bucks as well.

ARush!

[jimmaplesong]

I just built a 60" Zephyr, and it _does_ fit in the back seat of my VW Jetta... barely. One winglet is by the passenger side floor, and the other tucks in at the top of the door on the driver's side. Then my 85lb Saint Brenard / Lab mix named Maria jumps in on the passenger side back seat and promises not to chew the prop.

I didn't want to have a Zephyr as my first build either, so I built an IYF44 first. Both builds came out fine... There's enough helpful people here, and enough video instructions out there to nail the Zephyr on the first try.

[Adrenalinrush]

I have a border collie myself, and I won't go flying without her. She is well behaved in the car and knows not to eat the planes. But when we get the field she gets SUPER ramped up and chases it everywhere. Thats mostly why I don't go too far in FPV because she will chase it into the next county.

I was looking through one of the build logs and CK said it would take 40+ for the build... hopefully he means a lot of time researching what Video / Radio equipment to use. I have all of mine, so that will cut that time down. How long was your build? My wife is pretty demanding on my time, so I get to build after she goes to bed.

-Does your Zephyr feel too "big" to fly in smaller spots. (Can you land in a soccer field surrounded by trees?).

-Also that motor I have, is that a little too much or not enough on a 3c?

-Does it power off glide at all?

-Whats your up time?

[jimmaplesong]

I got my Zephyr parts in the mail April 14th, and maidened May 30th. Build log is here: http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php?543-Zephyr-in-Vermont The link to a video of my maiden is on there... I flew out of a soccer field, no problem. With the recommended Hacker motor and 10x7 prop, it should climb out at 35deg - 40deg. I was building mostly evenings and weekends. If the soccer field is really tight on trees, what I've learned to do is to make 2-3 tight turns as I decend, and the turns keep the ground speed under control. I wouldn't maiden with trees all around.

My latest video on Vimeo starts with a long glide from 300m up to about 200m up. http://vimeo.com/24773267 The glide doesn't last that long, so it'll give you a feel of how she sinks. She's no high performance glider. That said, I have a vario on her and will be trying to find thermals eventually. I was just playing around with maintaining about 20 mph during that glide, and trying to keep the vario quiet. A better pilot would keep her up much longer at a faster speed, I think.

I'm not familliar with your motor... no idea.

The Zephyr seems to cruise just fine at about 8 - 12 Amps, and I'm seeing only about 32 Amps wide open throttle. So 6.6 Amp hours at 10 Amps should give about 35-40 minutes. But who _just_ cruises. The flight that that clip above with the glide is from lasted about 22 minutes... but I was tring to control altitude on low passes with various amounts of throttle.

[jimmaplesong]

Wow, a border collie! I can imagine the excitement. Once I nosed in my IYF44 just a few feet from my dog, so now she's a bit wary of that propeller sound. She keeps a respectful distance, but doesn't run away. She's such a gouuuuud geirl.

[Adrenalinrush]

My Border fears NO prop, or deer, or coon, or anything that moves. I just have to make sure that I keep away from roads when FPVing, and I keep the camera on a swivel looking for her. So not only am I battling the wind, trying to watch where I am so I dont get to far away, I have to keep an eye on the dog. But I dont mind she loves flying more than me!

Your in VT you know how hard it is to find a spot with little to no trees.

[Adrenalinrush]

I might just BlueCore foam a wing to see if I like / can build / can fly one. then spend the money on a zephyr. It looks great! I have plenty of money, work as an IT guy, but alas I am married..... so I get an allowance!

Here are my choices for the wind atm.

1. "Slower" Pylon racer (I dont know if this would work, not enough room, way way to fast, no glide plane)
2. Funjet (Expensive, and short run times)
3. Maxi Swift (Out of stock)
4. Zephyr (if I can get the nerve to dive in and buy one)

[Adrenalinrush]

LMAO after I posted that about the blue core, I looked at your Vemio page and saw that you tried what I was thinking about. And I have been following Airbag a bit too! Howd that work for ya?

[jimmaplesong]

I loved the Blu-Z while it lasted. (The maiden video http://vimeo.com/22517871 shows the tree-surrounded field where I've had to learn to do turns as I land.) The next video is a fun crash.

It only took a few tree-strikes before it started to loosen up, and I'd build her just a bit differently next time, cutting the motor in a bit more, and I'd reinforce the battery bay with some coroplast or plywood next time.

But you can see it would handle a 10 mph wind no problem. I even put an EzOSD on her and a fatshark camera, and had a blast with FPVing... twice. It was so light, I was using a motor meant for a tiny parkflier. Your eflight would be perfect for a Blucor Zeph.

The nice thing about the Blue core is that you can throw together something Zephyr-like in two evenings or less, and when it gets flimsy, just build another one. The whole family enjoyed that build. 'bagit's blucor builds turned out great too (except for the first one!) :)

The challenge with the Blucor is that some adhesives melt it. 3M90 will melt it, and so will Shoe Goo. Loctite 200 spray adhesive stays tacky on Blucor, but it works. 'bagit used lots of fiber tape... and that works fine too.

I took some video when I built my Blu-Z, but never posted it anywhere. I'll try to dig it up just in case its helpful.

[Adrenalinrush]

I have built a cargo plane out of pink "bluecore" and it "flew" (if you get my drift). was just a bit heavy.

I am going to tackle this, this weekend.

Did you build your wing with the fold technique, the Km-f airfoil, or hotwire?

[airbagit13]

Hey Adrenalinrush, Jim used the fold technique and I used a variation of it where I had the top and bottom two pieces with a spar in between that they wrap around. My bluecore wing flew like a champion till it folded. I was going to build another one with CF reinforcements but my wife bought me a Swift for fathers day, I dont have the room in my hangar for two similar planes, I like diversity.

CommonsenseRC has the swift in stock:
http://www.commonsenserc.com/product_info.php?cPath=116_118&products_id=1624

It would fly great with your Power 10 motor. If you decide to build one or decide to build one out of blucore let me know if you have any questions and I will try to help out if I can.

[Adrenalinrush]

I looked at your rcgroups profile Airbag..... "these are the models I worked on in 2010".... and theres 20 birds there.

I would rather have some help buying things. My wife keeps me on lock down when purchasing. *EVIL EYES*

I bought a 7C FASST because my dx6i is horrible and get 25$ off through tower and the 100$ for the dx6i, which is a pretty good deal concidering, but she doesnt see it that way.

Hence when I said they were out of stock I meant for the white one (a little cheaper). Was the build a little easier than the zephyr looks like?

I think I am going to go for the km-f or the hotwire, I bet your wing folded up because there was nothing solid inside for support. Except the CF and 1 small epp piece. But I am probably wrong

[airbagit13]

I looked at your rcgroups profile Airbag..... "these are the models I worked on in 2010".... and theres 20 birds there.

Was the build a little easier than the zephyr looks like?

I think I am going to go for the km-f or the hotwire, I bet your wing folded up because there was nothing solid inside for support. Except the CF and 1 small epp piece. But I am probably wrong

Yeah I went crazy when I first found out about scratch building, I built about 50 planes that year. lol. Your right though my wing folded because there was no support, I didnt even have CF in there. If you have experience with hotwire that is definitely the way to go. Buuuut that being said I have built wings before using the KF2M airfoil like the Divinity and it flew just fine.

The swift will definitely be an easier build then the Zephyr, you could probably build the swift in a few hours.

[Adrenalinrush]

Kinda want to get away from calling anything scratch built a "swift" or "zephyr". I know CK / Trappy and a bunch of guys have put a lot of time and effort into it and do not want to infringe.

You still didn't answer my question! How the heck does your wife let you buy so much awesome stuff. Its like my wife has backward beer goggles on. I see awesome, she sees a complete waste of money and I get drilled everytime I buy anything : /


I Just need to pull my skirt up I guess and spend spend spend !

[airbagit13]

Kinda want to get away from calling anything scratch built a "swift" or "zephyr". I know CK / Trappy and a bunch of guys have put a lot of time and effort into it and do not want to infringe.!

I am not sure what that means, somethings getting lost in translation.

To answer your question about my wife and spending I am on lock down also lol, I think we all are. I bought a few motors ESCs and Servos from HK and just started cracking. Of course I never had 50 functioning planes at the same time, most of them shared the same power systems I just made everything plug and play so that I could just switch it over to another bird quickly. The only thing that I have a ton of is servos since those are more time consuming to switch over. Most of my planes I just left the servos in.

My wife thinks everyone of my planes is a complete waste of money... women....

[Adrenalinrush]

I am not sure what that means, somethings getting lost in translation.

My wife thinks everyone of my planes is a complete waste of money... women....

I have seen people getting angry about others trying to scratch build a zephyr and call it that. I just don't want to go down that road.

Sooo..... my wife bought this couch for the living room and thought it was a "Great Investment!"

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/furniture/sofas/the-shelter-sofa/s681183 $2999,99 I talked the guy down to $2750 :mad:

But anything from Hobby King is a horrible way to spend money. If she only knew how much it would cost if I bought something from America. :confused:

[Trappy]

hey man, no worries. we're all very cool with scratchbuilding. it's the "ripping off and selling it as your own product" that gets us worked up. We encourage everyone to build like us, that's why we put all this material out. it helps FPV, not just our customers. I firmly believe that down the road, when people want something that performs extremely well and they have the cash (or the allowance - haha, sorry :) ), they will think back and say "hey, I built my stuff their way and it worked great, I'll buy their wing now". so, no worry to call it a scratch-built zeph, I'm sure CK doesn't mind either.

[airbagit13]

Lol, thats a small couch with a big price tag. My wife likes Crate and Barrel also, I say "Babe, can't you find a cheaper store to like?"

[Adrenalinrush]

I will give him some free advertisement.

I asked him a drunken question through email. He (CK) responded promptly and informatively. He has some wings that are a little blemished for cheap, I should buy them but again just worried about the build. Nice guy!

I think I will call her, scratchbuilt-hole-in-the-ground

[Adrenalinrush]

Probably not the place to be asking, but I have your attention.

I just bought and received my Futaba 7c and want.... no need to sell my dx6i. (Piece of crap for FPV).

3 years of wear and tear, but functions like new, an ar600, ar6100, and a orange rx 6c. what do you think it is worth?


I looked on ebay and rcgroups and the prices are all over the place

[airbagit13]

$190 ? :confused: ?

[Adrenalinrush]

SOLD !!! LOL, I was thinking more along 150$ and maybe I would get a bite? I don't know, I'll post it for 190$ and see.

[airbagit13]

Well its $199 for the DX6 $50 for the RX, $30 for the other RX, and like $10 for the Orange RX. I would at least put it for $175

[roberto]

hey bros, any clues where can I get the plans to scratchbuild an FPV wing? I do have a wire cutter sitting here since last century.

[airbagit13]

Yeah man, I put up plans here: http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php?554-New-Scratch-Build-57inch-Wing

I built it out of bluecore but you can hotwire cut some foam because I posted the dimensions and chord.

Cheers man and enjoy.

[Blizzard1287]

Hey Adrenalinerush, I see your looking for something that's good in windy weather and is pretty compact. For what its worth with all the research I've done a wing will prob be your best bet. You might want to check out the Jackaroo thread on RCG but I also built a 60" collapsible zephyr (http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php?721-B-s-60-quot-Zephy) that will (hopefully) fit into a backpack. Trust me, the zephyr build looks complex but really isn't that bad so long as your somewhat handy. Speaking of which if your looking at the zeph be sure to check out the Zephyr manual by FPV labs, its pretty right on and takes a lot of the guess work out of the build process.

Also, you might want to check out this site (http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/wife.htm). Its written by a camera guru about convincing the better half :D to want you to buy all your expensive toys. Of course he's talking cameras and we're talking FPV but the principles are really the same..

[airbagit13]

Blizzard.... that... is... badass!!!! I cant believe I never noticed that thread. Wow wow wow, good job making it collapsible. i was thinking about doing the same thing to a wing but epoxying lock hinges onto the CF rods that clip together.

[Blizzard1287]

Thanks airbagit13,she maidens tomorrow but lets not get sidetracked here!

Adrenaline - here's the thread on the jackaroo. Its also collapsible http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1411963 (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1411963)(can i link to other threads or is that against some kind of rules?)

[airbagit13]

Yeah the Jackaroo is awesome, I have been watching it. I have a ton of materials sitting around that would be perfect to make one but alas... I have no more room in the hangar. Well to me I have room but to my wife I have taken over...

No rules about linking to outside threads, its all gravy.

[Blizzard1287]

I'm tellin ya, check out that 2nd link posted and just tell her its for bonding time with the kids. Just think of the children!!!!
If she buys it, then it really is all gravy. lol

[airbagit13]

I am a photographer so that wont work for me. My daughter is only 5 months, I am going to stick a TX in her hands to power some foamys at about a year so then I will toss out the bonding card. I got some time to go before I can use that.

[Adrenalinrush]

Also, you might want to check out this site (http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/wife.htm). Its written by a camera guru about convincing the better half :D to want you to buy all your expensive toys. Of course he's talking cameras and we're talking FPV but the principles are really the same..

Sorry been out flying, trying to upload a video now!

So if I was buying a new camera, car, something that would work for the family, This guide is AWESOME! How do I convince her that a flying $$$$ is worth anything to the family other than more $$$$$! Wish I had kids, that would make it easy, just me and her atm.

I am actually thinking of biting the bullet and buying a Zephyr, I hate you CK !!!! No I really love you, make me an awesome wing ! ........ Not yet, need to figure out a plan to get it past the little woman.

Does the price of the wing include CK calling my wife and talking her into me getting this? If I was at a used car lot, I could get the sales guy to speak with her and sell her on the idea.

I have a great idea! We need a "club", a "buying club", because it is always easier to sell something to another woman than your own... (see where I am going with this?) So when Airbag decides he needs to add to the 50+ planes he already has, I will calll and talk the little lady into it, and visa versa. So blizzard you start and call my wifey and talk her into a Zephyr!

[Adrenalinrush]

So I was trying to self teach doing loops with my Quadcopter :p Yup theres 3 broken props.

1412

The video is quite dull and boring, was just testing out recording, a guy showed up and started talking to me so I came down a bit quick. You do get to see my border collie act like a spaz as usual. My EZ flys like crap if it isnt up up and away. Thats why it looks like a controlled crash when I land. I realized my camera looks like crap. Its a KX something, any suggestions?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7F-N8uFhG0

And my ground station, needs to get cleaned up a little bit.

1413

[Blizzard1287]

Yeah hi, is miss adrenalinerush there? I'm just calling to let you know that your husband is about to drop a ton of money on a totally awesome, custom made foam airplane. .... ... ... Yes..... Uh huh.... Your going to have a "talk" with him you say? Ok tell him I said hi.


I think it went well :)

[Adrenalinrush]

Have you ever received (and by received I mean "shut up and listen") a talk from a red-head?

[Blizzard1287]

Oh man, one of those :) Good luck






You can't put a price on happiness right?
*edit* my friends tell me I'm a bad infulence.

[Adrenalinrush]

Ok so I took 2 birds and put them together.

the cloud chaser dimensions from Airbag
the divinity design (sortof) from Apache pilot

Tip - to - Tip 55 inches, 399 grams with no hardware

Your suggestions / criticism / laughter

142114221423

[Adrenalinrush]

I am a photographer so that wont work for me. My daughter is only 5 months, I am going to stick a TX in her hands to power some foamys at about a year so then I will toss out the bonding card. I got some time to go before I can use that.

Any suggestions on FPV camera? I heard the video out on the Go Pro isn't all its cracked up to be. I have the headplay goggles from dell, they dont have them posted any more but I think they are 800x600, and the KX-131 is 480i. I just dont feel like I am maximizing the clarity I can get. I look down and it doesn't look very good hard to see things.

I love the idea of having a HD camera that can record HD and use it as a flying camera as well.

There is a lot of information on RCG but it seems a bit outdated. Nothing that was posted in 2011, mostly from 2009 which I am sure something has come out better.

[Crash]

@adrenalinerush

Look no further for HD with live video out with NO LAG! (not noticeable to the naked eye at least) Not to mention that its built (modded) by our very own BELADOG!

http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php?684-Gyro-HD-Cam!

I haven't got the chance to fly through the live out yet but it looks extremely promising! Only played around with ground tests so far but I'm going to put it on the plane as the flight cam sometime this week. I got some videos up toward the last few pages of the thread if you want to skip ahead to it. Going to do some flying today and will try to get some more shots with it and post them up later.

[Adrenalinrush]

Crash, that cam looks nice. Can you upload what it looks like from the ground as well :)

It doesn't look like he put a price on the post? What did Bela end up charging you?

[Crash]

By ground view do you mean what the camera physically looks like or just some footage shot at ground level? If you want to see the camera itself check out that thread I linked you to see my review or you can find it on my YouTube page. I will try to get some ground recordings today while I'm out flying.

I can't really disclose what I paid for it. Jake and I had an agreement worked out for me to prototype and test it for him. My guess depending on how popular this camera gets is that it will be in the same ballpark as the GoPro1080 but probably slightly less. It offers better features than the gopro such as smaller package, lighter weight, no lag on video out, gyro stabilized lens, and same widescreen view of gopro without all the distortion. The only thing it's not is waterproof but I think I have a quick and easy fix to that, gotta run it by Jake (Beladog). I'm going to get some more video with the camera today so stay tuned.

[Adrenalinrush]

Yup ground view (ie straight off of the RX)

I revert back to the old adage, "if you have to ask... my wife won't let me buy it"

[airbagit13]

Dude adrenalin, nice job on the build. It looks awesome! That KF2M step should give you plenty of lift. I am interested to see its high speed characteristics as I have only used that step on slower wings that needed more lift at slow speeds.

This camera has done me very well: http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/540TVL-High-Resolution-Mini-SONY-CCD-Camera-Mic-0.01Lux-Wide-2.1mm.html

Its not HD but it looks way better then "regular" cable TV.

[Adrenalinrush]

1429

My pink wing. Just need to bury the batteries and get the CG right. I have a few build pics to post, but takes sooooo long to upload everything.

I think its a little too thick, I should have just gone w/ 2 steps instead of 3. And the weight is a bit heavy. It is stiff as a board though, buried some aluminum and CF arrows in it.

[jimmaplesong]

Yeah Adrenalinrush, beautiful build. Gonna be a good time.

[Adrenalinrush]

Thank you for your optimism, I think I might go "glass is half empty" on this one.

[Blizzard1287]

It is stiff as a board though, buried some aluminum and CF arrows in it.

well thats one way to go hunting....

[Adrenalinrush]

Maybe, heres a great way to go fishing !


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW150U-RuTE