Mick
2010-12-05, 07:15 PM
Having got interested in First Person View (FPV) flying I attended an FPV meet just east of Boucherville during the summer to see what it was like and got hooked. I then spent loads of time reading and asking dumb questions on FPV forums around the world. Finally it was time to make a few decisions and reach for the wallet.
I have planned a two stage project:
Stage 1 - learn to fly FPV at WIMAC where I can get lots of help. Therefore I bought a Fat Shark 5.8GHz video camera, transmitter, receiver and goggles kit for close-in flying. I will use my existing Aurora 9 2.4GHz radio so I don't cause any issues with other club members.
Stage 2 - when I want to go beyond the field and have the confidence to spend more money on FPV then I will buy a 433 GHz UHF for uplink and either 1.3 or 2.4GHz video downlink and a build a ground station with a tracking receiver. I can then utilise the 5.8GHz to connect the ground station to the goggles giving more freedom of location. Theoretically no wasted money, we will see.....
The platform is the trusty Multiplex EasyStar but with all the added weight I needed more wing area and wanted ailerons so I elected to use the EasyGlider wings and therefore also used the EasyGlider tail feathers to maintain yaw stability. I chose the EagleTree OSD Pro for on-screen information like HUD with a Co-Pilot4 for stabilisation. Servos were stock Turnigy 53317S for the tail and HXT900 for the ailerons. Motor is a HXT 2835 2200kv in-runner driving a 6x4 prop. ESC is a Mystery 40A which has a low noise switching SBEC, this runs everything on board. The Fat Shark kit came with the RCV922 camera, 100mW transmitter and video goggles with built-in receiver. For recording I picked up an Aiptek MPVR camcorder as it has a video-in socket.
Therefore, following the instructions carefully I connected all the electronics on the bench. This only required some minor soldering to get the connections right. It all worked first time and the OSD was easy to set up but the instructions could be a lot better.
http://s4.postimage.org/2hbymtr8k/001_Copy_2_800x600.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/2hbymtr8k/)
Following some threads on an FPV forum I chopped out loads of foam from inside the fuselage to creat enough room for the electronics and decided to use some magnets to hold the front fuselage halves together with the tail and motor mount glued; a compromise between rigidity and access.
http://s4.postimage.org/2hc58z57o/024_800x600.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/2hc58z57o/)
I followed a thread on RCGroups to trim and fit the EasyGlider wings, this was easier than it sounded, just lots of white bits everywhere!!
http://s4.postimage.org/2hc8k1u78/002_800x600_2.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/2hc8k1u78/)
I had to wait for weeks for the EasyGlider fin & rudder and horizontal stabiliser & elevator to arrive as the N. American Multiplex distributor had to get them from Germany. More foam chopping as the fit is different on the two models. All worked out OK as it ended up square to the wing once the glue dried.
http://s4.postimage.org/2hcxd41lw/034_800x600.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/2hcxd41lw/)
Then put it all together and set up the radio. It took a long time moving all the components around inside the fuselage until I was happy with it.
http://s4.postimage.org/2hd5mss2s/043_800x600.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/2hd5mss2s/)
With the magnets you can take split the front fuselage to gain access to the OSD and CP4 but it is limited by the rudder cable. Better than gluing it but only flying will tell if it was a good decision. This should enable me to upgrade it later to Stage 2, if the EasyGliderStar lasts that long.
Lots of trimming and setting up the radio and OSD then it was time for a first flight. The weather, as always, was not co-operating. Loads of nice days when I was waiting for the tail but now it is snowing and windy. I decided to fly it without the FPV goggles to get the aircraft trimmed out and to check out the CofG and stability with the blend of bits from two aircraft.
When I got to club field on Saturday, 4 December 2010 it was -3C with wind at 20km per hour gusting to 40, great. At least it had stopped snowing. It flew no problem, very stable and controllable. A few clicks to trim it. A bit underpowered for the conditions. Mike helped me by wearing the goggles and shouting out what was displayed on the OSD and giving feedback on video quality. It appears that the goggles to camera lead is not good as when a connection is moved lots of noise and interference or maybe this was interference on the transmission, hard to say, needs more investigation. With the throttle closed it needed some heavy down elevator to get it to penetrate into the wind and descend. I managed to get it back down onto the runway for a safe landing.
Second flight today, Sunday, with the wind a bit calmer but still too windy and cold to try the goggles for the first time. Thanks to David, Robert and Tarek for the help.
First flight video:
YouTube - EasyGliderStar first flight
Second flight video:
YouTube - EasyGliderStar at WIMAC 5 Dec 2010
It has been a real challenge getting this far with the FPV project but there is more fun to come once I don the goggles for the first time. A bit of nice weather would help.
I have planned a two stage project:
Stage 1 - learn to fly FPV at WIMAC where I can get lots of help. Therefore I bought a Fat Shark 5.8GHz video camera, transmitter, receiver and goggles kit for close-in flying. I will use my existing Aurora 9 2.4GHz radio so I don't cause any issues with other club members.
Stage 2 - when I want to go beyond the field and have the confidence to spend more money on FPV then I will buy a 433 GHz UHF for uplink and either 1.3 or 2.4GHz video downlink and a build a ground station with a tracking receiver. I can then utilise the 5.8GHz to connect the ground station to the goggles giving more freedom of location. Theoretically no wasted money, we will see.....
The platform is the trusty Multiplex EasyStar but with all the added weight I needed more wing area and wanted ailerons so I elected to use the EasyGlider wings and therefore also used the EasyGlider tail feathers to maintain yaw stability. I chose the EagleTree OSD Pro for on-screen information like HUD with a Co-Pilot4 for stabilisation. Servos were stock Turnigy 53317S for the tail and HXT900 for the ailerons. Motor is a HXT 2835 2200kv in-runner driving a 6x4 prop. ESC is a Mystery 40A which has a low noise switching SBEC, this runs everything on board. The Fat Shark kit came with the RCV922 camera, 100mW transmitter and video goggles with built-in receiver. For recording I picked up an Aiptek MPVR camcorder as it has a video-in socket.
Therefore, following the instructions carefully I connected all the electronics on the bench. This only required some minor soldering to get the connections right. It all worked first time and the OSD was easy to set up but the instructions could be a lot better.
http://s4.postimage.org/2hbymtr8k/001_Copy_2_800x600.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/2hbymtr8k/)
Following some threads on an FPV forum I chopped out loads of foam from inside the fuselage to creat enough room for the electronics and decided to use some magnets to hold the front fuselage halves together with the tail and motor mount glued; a compromise between rigidity and access.
http://s4.postimage.org/2hc58z57o/024_800x600.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/2hc58z57o/)
I followed a thread on RCGroups to trim and fit the EasyGlider wings, this was easier than it sounded, just lots of white bits everywhere!!
http://s4.postimage.org/2hc8k1u78/002_800x600_2.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/2hc8k1u78/)
I had to wait for weeks for the EasyGlider fin & rudder and horizontal stabiliser & elevator to arrive as the N. American Multiplex distributor had to get them from Germany. More foam chopping as the fit is different on the two models. All worked out OK as it ended up square to the wing once the glue dried.
http://s4.postimage.org/2hcxd41lw/034_800x600.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/2hcxd41lw/)
Then put it all together and set up the radio. It took a long time moving all the components around inside the fuselage until I was happy with it.
http://s4.postimage.org/2hd5mss2s/043_800x600.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/2hd5mss2s/)
With the magnets you can take split the front fuselage to gain access to the OSD and CP4 but it is limited by the rudder cable. Better than gluing it but only flying will tell if it was a good decision. This should enable me to upgrade it later to Stage 2, if the EasyGliderStar lasts that long.
Lots of trimming and setting up the radio and OSD then it was time for a first flight. The weather, as always, was not co-operating. Loads of nice days when I was waiting for the tail but now it is snowing and windy. I decided to fly it without the FPV goggles to get the aircraft trimmed out and to check out the CofG and stability with the blend of bits from two aircraft.
When I got to club field on Saturday, 4 December 2010 it was -3C with wind at 20km per hour gusting to 40, great. At least it had stopped snowing. It flew no problem, very stable and controllable. A few clicks to trim it. A bit underpowered for the conditions. Mike helped me by wearing the goggles and shouting out what was displayed on the OSD and giving feedback on video quality. It appears that the goggles to camera lead is not good as when a connection is moved lots of noise and interference or maybe this was interference on the transmission, hard to say, needs more investigation. With the throttle closed it needed some heavy down elevator to get it to penetrate into the wind and descend. I managed to get it back down onto the runway for a safe landing.
Second flight today, Sunday, with the wind a bit calmer but still too windy and cold to try the goggles for the first time. Thanks to David, Robert and Tarek for the help.
First flight video:
YouTube - EasyGliderStar first flight
Second flight video:
YouTube - EasyGliderStar at WIMAC 5 Dec 2010
It has been a real challenge getting this far with the FPV project but there is more fun to come once I don the goggles for the first time. A bit of nice weather would help.