TwinStar II first FPV project

[HigHnMighty]

This is my first FPV plane and my first model since I left the hobby in the early 80s. It's way cooler and way cheaper now than it was then, that's for sure!

I chose the twinstar II for several reasons:
1) It looks cool.
2) It's a twin and can accept lots of power for either high thrust or high speed.
3) It has a ton of room in it.
4) It can carry a ton of weight.
5) It has a low wing loading.

equipment:
800 mw video tx
homemade inverted V
2212-10 1400kv brushless motors
30 Amp ESCs
Hitec 9g servos
600 line 1/3" flight cam
Futaba R148DP receiver
Futaba 9CAP
Immersion RC EZ OSD
Turnigy 3S 5000 mAh 30-40C
Zippy 1000 mAh vtx battery
IBCrazy patch antenna
Tachyon OPS HD cam

weight with all fpv equipment less battery pack is 43oz.
with above battery 58oz.
with tachyon HD cam 60oz.

[airbagit13]

Welcome back to RC! You made a wise choice with the TS2, you will love it man, she is a puppy dog in the air and like you said can carry a lot of weight. She flys right out of your hand. I have a thread here somewhere about my TS2 build but if you have any questions shoot them on over. Welcome to the forum to.

[HigHnMighty]

First thing I did is reinforce the tail boom with aluminum rods. I thought since the control cable stringers help the strength, why not add more?


then I cut away some material so that I could extend access into the tail boom to create a trunk. I also added an exit guide for the antenna.


then I built a shelf so that I could move the receiver in and out easier.


Next I added a roof to the top of the trunk so that the receiver and video transmitter batteries didn't flop around.


After the paint job I used a soldering iron to melt away a channel for the ESC power and control wires since the stock channel wasn't deep enough.

[airbagit13]

Looking good.

[HigHnMighty]

I had to shorten and reverse the stock motor mounts to accept the brushless motors. I recommend using gorilla glue ONLY for securing the motor mount to foam. I also added a velcro strap to secure the wires and reinforced the plastic motor mount attachment point with metal.



Next I made the camera pod. This shows the camera's OSD adjusting cable attached.


here is a view of the pod with the flight cam, HD cam and video Tx mounted in place.


here you can see the OSD mounted external and behind the wing. It is far away from the video Tx to reduce interference. I mounted it external because EZOSD needs its buttons pushed to remove the flight log display if you stop mid way through your battery. It also needs to have buttons pushed if you use several different size batteries like I do. Otherwise, the trunk I made has plenty of space for it.

[HigHnMighty]

Thanks. I am loving my twinstar. It's so much fun to fly and it has lots of growth potential too. I have some faster motors available to try on it, but I might have to wait until the spring for that. Unfortunately since the build pics, she's been through some pretty intense crashes. I really should add one more reason to buy a twinstar II: it's almost indestructible.

[bobmaxiao]

Hey bro. continue from the Vimeo. 80 amp is a lot. if u up grade to 8X8 the current draw will increase a lot. For safety, i recommend u to change a esc. I was lucky enough that one of my old ESCs burnt during the ground testing. I don't think the esc would have too much affect on the rpm difference, unless u made the settings of them different. For my setup, I shifted the elevator and rudder servos back to the tail, to make my plane balanced. Cuz i fly with a 6000mah nanotech batt. And i put gopro with the housing in the front. I'll try to upload some pic if I got time. But sadly i cannot upload any vid of fpv due to the restriction in my country.

[saucisse]

looking good mate! Welcome back in the hobby!

[HigHnMighty]

Hi Bob,

Too bad about the restrictions in Singapore. I'd love to see some videos from there. My setup only drew 80 amps with the 2212-6 motors. The 2212-10 motors max out around 40 amps, so I think I can put 8x8's on those. I'll try to get some vids up of my regular engine setup and it sounds better. But you're right, there might be a prop shaft that is slightly bent. I had a bent shaft from the factory on some of my motors.

[bobmaxiao]

HigHnMighty
Oh, i c. as long as the current falls in the limit of the motor can bear, it is ok. The set-up i use draws about 15-20 amps on each motor, which means a rather good efficiency and lower weight saved from the motor. From ur pics, I found another place which can be improved. The distance between the battery and the esc should be as little as possible to increase the efficiency. Other than that, nice and neat building.
Bob