No picture yet. I will take it in tomorrow to get it digitized and then I will post it. I have gone through a lot of historical data that I have and a trip from SFO to Hong Kong left SFO on Wed. and landed in Hong Kong the following Wed. Cruised at 1300-1500 feet at 180mph but what a way to fly. It had a dining salon, berths, a library, and loads of space in which to wander around. Total pax load was 74. People have no idea of the tribulations that the Boeing Company went through to get that airplane flyable. The original tail was too small, the sponsons were too short, and there were other little disasters that were quite embarrassing. At the end, it was a difficult airplane to fly. Of note, in 1952 I worked in the building on the Duwamish River in which it was built and some of the wooden jigs were still there. It was a tough plane of which to paint a picture, lots of little details and a tough task to depict the colors of the aluminized enamel with which it was painted. I'm glad that it is done. I'm getting too old to paint so many tiny picky little details.
Thank you, sir. I'm not going to stop but it does take a lot of energy that I never noticed 5 or 6 years ago. Yeah, I have a lot of things that I want to accomplish in the paintings and writings, so I'll keep chugging along.
Best any of us can hope for I guess....... 'Cept most of us don't get to put any of our artwork in any museums! Great stuff! Please keep sharing. Cheers, Ian
Thanks for the notes. May do the mod, but haven't had any 'issues' with them either TBH. As you say, amazing little quads for the money. Those batteries (& the included charger) are *ridiculously* cheap! Wow! Thanks for the link. Cheers, Ian
Hey Chris - good news, you can legally go flying tomorrow! FAA Updates DC-Area Unmanned Aircraft Procedures
That's something I guess - Still seems to be a real PITA to do it, but at least you can. Awesome - Thanks! Cheers, Ian
Why a PITA? Registering on the FAA's website (linked below) took me less than 5 minutes in Dec. I think it costs $5 now, was free for the first month. Just mark your aircraft with your FAA ID and follow the same rules as everyone else around the country (max 400' altitude, don't be stupid, etc). https://registermyuas.faa.gov/login#/home
It does - I screwed up & forgot to do it. Got mine today. $5 for the "magic #" doesn't seem bad though. And I apologize; I somehow completely misread their page! No PITA at all. "Just be careful" really. Cheers, Ian
Thanks for the update Nurburgringer. Now I can fly without worry. I heard the AMA was working on fixing it, but didn't expect much.
congrats, now you don't have to be an outlaw Almost posted this in the HO229 thread, but since it's RC check out this new video of a scratchbuilt Arado E.555 flying wing with a ridiculous number of ducted fan motors (shots of the build at 4:00): [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7TH3G0Ci8A[/ame] A real one never flew, was a just a concept by the Nazis for bombing the USA but the RC version looks pretty stable! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_E.555
The $50 FPV "kit" for the Syma X5C works well! For ~$100 for the quad, FPV kit with LCD monitor and camera/25mW VTX (+$10 for a wider angle camera and lens that plugs right into the stock camera PC board) it's a fun setup for backyard cruising. Took some video last weekend, nothing fancy but the video image in the Headplays is fairly high quality with no noticeable lag. Video range isn't great, it starts to break up around 40 or 50m but can still control the quad so easy to bring her back. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0WT6g7xLeY[/ame] Image Unavailable, Please Login
Awesome! (Love the kid & dog watching from inside. ) Very nice piloting too. I try not get anywhere near trees etc...... Guess that would have been a multi thousand $ plus setup not long ago. It's almost insane what we now have available for almost pocket change. Cheers, Ian
thanks - it was a nice calm day so didn't need to fight the wind much! of course now I'm getting the hang of the gentle Syma X5 higher performance is calling to me.... check out Armattan quads. The Morphite 180 is an awesome machine for ~$250 hand built in the USA ready to fly race/aerobatic quad, with a lifetime warranty on the carbon fiber frame. Armattan Minis - Armattan Quads The "F1" models are INSANE on 4S: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWUo4BRIDFA[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGc-VHSbono[/ame]
Holey-Moley! That's some very, very impressive kit & flying there. The first vid he must have been using FPV goggles, right? Not sure on the second, looks like they laid out a 'circuit' and were racing line of sight? As you say, amazing stuff. Let alone at that price. Cheers, Ian
They're both flown FPV. Really no way to judge distance to obstacles at those ranges and speeds unless you're right there inside the quad. You can imagine why video latency/lag is really important to racers or high speed flying around obstacles in general. More than 20 or 30ms difference between what's happening and what the pilot's eyes see and you'll be too late to react. Smash. Yeah I can also see markers on the ground in the warehouse race designating the course. Usually quad racers also include fabric "bridges" or gates to fly under/through Here's one more video with an Armattan quad, with some really nice freestyle flying around a playground: check out the gap he shoots at 2:56! I don't know that my stomach could take a flight like that with FPV goggles.... [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP26EGKDA8A[/ame]
Holy crap! Wow! Just wow! Have you ordered yours yet? You've got the goggles already, right? (Sorry, I should go back thru the thread.) Great stuff, Cheers, Ian
Not yet, haven't decided whether I'll get ~$250 worth of enjoyment out of one. First thing is to find a place to properly fly it. One of those in my backyard would be like having a Ferrari or a superbike and only driving it on the highway Second thing would be to practice practice practice. And I'd still never be as good as those guys. But from what I've read a Morphite 180 could likely be the last quad I ever buy. The thing will survive most crashes needing only a few bucks in new props, save head-one ones into concrete at speed. Yes I have the $250 Headplay HDs. Really amazing, with a MUCH bigger image than you get with fatshark-type goggles. This guy does a great demonstration using a manequin's head with a camera in the eye to show the difference: https://youtu.be/uk4S6c03vQA?t=18m55s The Headplay's 1280x800 LCD screen is also higher resolution than even $500 Fatshark "HD" goggles, though with current analog video transmission the max resolution actually transmitted is 480x720 (NTSC). But digital systems able to transmit full 1080p signals are dropping in price and the Headplays will be ready for that awesomeness. They do tend to fog up on hot, humid days so I installed a tiny $8 5V fan and switch in mine to fight this. Headplay's second generation will surely come with one stock. The other downside of Headplays is no plug-and-play support for headtracking units that control pan and tilt servos for a camera. A stand alone module that can be mounted on the headset costs ~$80 and I'm probably going to get one. Already ordered one of these I can control with extra channels on my TX until I do: HD FPV Camera System With 32ch 5.8GHz Transmitter and Pan and Tilt Function (Black) Image Unavailable, Please Login
I didn't know you could get RC this big.. or beautiful! *jaw drop* https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL7bCv2WuVwPTCG7TkpiYB2y03uZkhnsH4&v=akoJ2zBwX1o
Cool stuff indeed! I'd guess if you didn't know it was a model you'd never know except when it takes off & lands on the grass. Here's another; https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=elfj4ytDAJc Cheers, Ian
Nurburgringer, many thanks for the comments & insights. Great stuff! Thanks! I'm a ways away from that scenario yet, but it's great to hear/see others experiences. Cheers, Ian
As another renegade outlaw living near DC, good to see the FAA reduced the legal flying distance to DC. No way my quad had a 30 mile range. My kid got left out of a video production class at school so I told him worry not, we'd make a better video he could share w/ friends on Youtube. Was before I got 3 axis gimbal so a little jerky. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDcMahuzOVc Looking for FPV next. The racing drones will be really cool when they can increase the range and video race vehicles at speed.
You're welcome Ian. Fun stuff indeed! Neat video there Dave. What quad/cam is that? Which gimbal are you now using? Happy with it? What do you mean by "increase the range"? AFAIK the things that'll take FPVing to the next level is affordable, real-time HD video transmission, 3D, and miniaturized head-tracking pan and tilt camera mounts. I just got this camera and lens and let me tell you the image quality is REALLY good for SD, it's super tiny and costs $11... US Direct | 600TVL 1/4 1.8mm CMOS FPV 170 Degree Wide Angle Lens Camera PAL/NTSC 3.7-5V Paired with a postage stamp-sized, $25, 600mW video transmitter and $10 clover-leaf antenna and the effective range is well over a mile. Maybe 2 or 3. Haven't read the article yet but here's a recent one about racing: Welcome to Competitive Drone Racing | Outside Online
Once again, 'holy-Moley'! I did a little 'research' on this stuff maybe a couple of years ago. It was doable, but it cost hundreds, more like thousands of bucks. It's close to unbelievable what those little guys are turning out these days! Cheers, Ian
