Recommend a plane

poteen

took my radian out for its maiden flight this evening. Was at home about 8pm and the wind had died down to near calm (so i convinced myself) . I launched it and it took off at a nice steady angle under half power. Took it to about 100ft or so and flew it for 3 minutes or so. Then felt i wanted to take it down and not push it. The landing went pretty well. landed in nice long grass and no damage. Im pretty happy with the radian. It was a great thrill to finally get it flying!

Plug

poteen wrote: »

took my radian out for its maiden flight this evening. Was at home about 8pm and the wind had died down to near calm (so i convinced myself) . I launched it and it took off at a nice steady angle under half power. Took it to about 100ft or so and flew it for 3 minutes or so. Then felt i wanted to take it down and not push it. The landing went pretty well. landed in nice long grass and no damage. Im pretty happy with the radian. It was a great thrill to finally get it flying!

Result! Fairplay to ya.
What way do you have the control rods set up and also do you have the radio on high or low? Also was it a steep enough angle?

syl77

I was looking around on the internet and I seen you can use a mono audio lead to pick up the spectrum remote on the pc but I can find much information on how to do it.Do you have any idea how to do this Robbie

John85, I have an old cable for hooking up my old Futaba radio to my PC in the days when i started out with FMS. The cable came with a connection that plugged into the male (audio type) 3.3m jack to convert it to the square futaba connection my radio had. I belive it is still in working order (even thought its beend some years since I last used it). If you need one you can have it... FOC .... Just send me ur address...
If not maybe some one else may have a use for it......

poteen

Plug wrote: »

Result! Fairplay to ya.
What way do you have the control rods set up and also do you have the radio on high or low? Also was it a steep enough angle?

Cheers Plug. I just have the control rods set up as they came (RTF). Ill adjust them as I think I need to the more I fly but for now they will be left. I had a small but of down trip set as well just to avoid any mad loops. At Half trottle it took off at a steady 45 degree angle which I was happy with as it climbed away at a comfortable rate. I found the controls very responsive too so pushing too hard on your rudder will just mean you will get caught up trying to rebalance. I was flying in the Low setting on the radio.

Plug

I was driving up mount Leinster today and low and behold 3 guys with RC planes, one of whom is a member here, Loopingfred I think. Anyhow I got talking to them(sound chaps) and they were giving me some help. I wasn't even thinking about flying, it was only fluke the plane was in the boot. I asked would they like to fly it and they did, they didn't even need the motor to take off because it was so windy. They let me take over the controls when it was up at a high altitude. I was a bit nervous but I managed to do a turn which is pretty hard given the high winds, I had the controls for about a minute and then they landed it for me.

Tomorrow they will be about 15 lads there so Im going to take a trip up there. They are meeting from about 10 in the morning. Anyone who wants to learn to fly this could be good.

poteen

How did you get on on Mount Leinster sunday?

I had my first crash with the radian yesterday. It thought it was ok to fly (the winds were dying) but a few seconds after launch this gust came in and swept it to the ground before i could even respond . not good. The damage is :

The Fus is split just above the wing. I thinkthis will be easily enough repaired.

The rudder detached from the Fusalage. On examination, this joint between the ruder and the fus was very weak the first day. I think this is going to be harder to repair as the contact area between the two is smaller and is a hinged joint (the rudder).

I think everything else is ok on the radian. I have purchased Gator Bite Glue which is the UK equivalent to gorilla glue. I have also purchased 3M surgical tape for the joints. My ego is wounded . Its going to have to be a very still day for me to fly again!

Is this repair on the Rudder hard to your opinions?

Bruthal

poteen wrote: »

How did you get on on Mount Leinster sunday?

I had my first crash with the radian yesterday. It thought it was ok to fly (the winds were dying) but a few seconds after launch this gust came in and swept it to the ground before i could even respond . not good.

When learning, sometimes it seems like it all happened in an instant when you lose control, that changes with experience, its usually more gusty near the ground and also you have less time near the ground, so taking off and particularly landing is the time where gusts will be most tricky.

The damage is :

The Fus is split just above the wing. I think this will be easily enough repaired.

The rudder detached from the Fusalage. On examination, this joint between the ruder and the fus was very weak the first day. I think this is going to be harder to repair as the contact area between the two is smaller and is a hinged joint (the rudder).

I think everything else is ok on the radian. I have purchased Gator Bite Glue which is the UK equivalent to gorilla glue. I have also purchased 3M surgical tape for the joints. My ego is wounded . Its going to have to be a very still day for me to fly again!

Normal superglue is the best type of glue to use on them, although i never tried the gorilla glue stuff. Where the break is, get cocktail sticks and glue them into ine half and let set. Then dry fit the 2 halves so the cocktail sticks leave holes, then take apart again ang glue together again. I get bottles of superglue from hobbyking as they are cheap and loads in them.

Is this repair on the Rudder hard to your opinions?

You can use 3 model aircraft hinges which you can glue into slits you make in the foam, or what we have done before, just tape the rudder back on, works perfectly, you have to make sure the tape is shaped into the groove where the hinging is happening. Either method is simple enough. Just be careful not to glue into the hinge part itself if using hinges.

Here is a neighbours one i repaired a few weeks ago using superglue, note the cocktail sticks in first photo.


Insulating tape to hold it together, ideal as you can stretch it and it is slightly elastic so holds
the parts together well, as long as the tape is well fixed on each side of the break.


The repaired radian.

poteen

Solid advice as always robbie. Thanks. Im gonna try this gator glue and see how it goes. Ive read on a few forums that it seems good. Its basically the same as Gorilla glue -different brand. I would be afraid to use ordinary supergle as I would have thought it could burn the foam?

I cant upload pictures of the damage to my plane but I have googled a rudder / tail section of a radian. The black circles show the areas of damage. As I said in the last post , the point where the fus and teh rudder are attached is where I see the biggest problem. It is 'flimsy'. Im not sure your toothpick idea will work here. Will they not make it to rigid and prevent rudder movement. What are 3 model aircraft hinges? Can you attach an image? Is this similar to 3M white surgery tape? The damage I have circled above this point is also a clean break but I think it will be easier to fix and is of less structural importance.

I will use your coctail method on split on the top side of the fus above the wing.

Plug

Mount Leinster was all right the second day, I didn't fly mine as it was way too windy, even the pro's said that. I got to see the other big gliders in action and was fairly good I thought.
I brought it home and tried to fly it for about and hour and a bit and I was getting it. Im still a bit shaky. I was only keeping it at 20 feet or so I was too paranoid to go high.
Im getting the hang of it but with great difficulty:D

Bruthal

Plug wrote: »

Mount Leinster was all right the second day, I didn't fly mine as it was way too windy, even the pro's said that. I got to see the other big gliders in action and was fairly good I thought.
I brought it home and tried to fly it for about and hour and a bit and I was getting it. Im still a bit shaky. I was only keeping it at 20 feet or so I was too paranoid to go high.
Im getting the hang of it but with great difficulty:D

Going up a bit of altitude can be a bit scary alright at the start, but you should go up to at least 100 feet anyway. If you did`t crash in them flights then your well on your way now. When there is any wind, keep it upwind of you so if you do get into even slight problems it will be coming back toward you, a light aircraft like the radian can quickly drift with the wind if you get disorientated, not so bad when upwind, but can cause a bit of panic if its a bit downwind.

Bruthal

poteen wrote: »

Solid advice as always robbie. Thanks. Im gonna try this gator glue and see how it goes. Ive read on a few forums that it seems good. Its basically the same as Gorilla glue -different brand. I would be afraid to use ordinary supergle as I would have thought it could burn the foam?

I cant upload pictures of the damage to my plane but I have googled a rudder / tail section of a radian. The black circles show the areas of damage. As I said in the last post , the point where the fus and teh rudder are attached is where I see the biggest problem. It is 'flimsy'. Im not sure your toothpick idea will work here. Will they not make it to rigid and prevent rudder movement. What are 3 model aircraft hinges? Can you attach an image? Is this similar to 3M white surgery tape? The damage I have circled above this point is also a clean break but I think it will be easier to fix and is of less structural importance.

I will use your coctail method on split on the top side of the fus above the wing.

The normal superglue is fine on them foam planes. Its the foam safe glue that apparently gives problems amazingly enough.

The spot where your rudder hinge broke is common in crashes of them radians. We just used selotape on them, as good as new. The hinges are perfectly strong enough on them, they just tear in crashes. I have a cularis as well and its hinges on rudder, ailerons and air brakes are all done the same way. No crashes yet so i have not tested them that way yet.

If you use cocktail sticks, only glue the sticks into one side first then let that set and dry fit the parts to push cocktail sticks into the other part to ensure alignment. When happy then glue it and you can line the sticks into the holes you have now made from dry fitting.

If its only broke above the wing then stick a couple of the sticks into one side, then you can make slits in the other side of break to let cocktail sticks slip in as you wont be able to seperate the break apart to stick the sticks into each side of break if only broken above wings.

poteen

robbie7730 wrote: »

The normal superglue is fine on them foam planes. Its the foam safe glue that apparently gives problems amazingly enough.

The spot where your rudder hinge broke is common in crashes of them radians. We just used selotape on them, as good as new. The hinges are perfectly strong enough on them, they just tear in crashes. I have a cularis as well and its hinges on rudder, ailerons and air brakes are all done the same way. No crashes yet so i have not tested them that way yet.

If you use cocktail sticks, only glue the sticks into one side first then let that set and dry fit the parts to push cocktail sticks into the other part to ensure alignment. When happy then glue it and you can line the sticks into the holes you have now made from dry fitting.

If its only broke above the wing then stick a couple of the sticks into one side, then you can make slits in the other side of break to let cocktail sticks slip in as you wont be able to seperate the break apart to stick the sticks into each side of break if only broken above wings.

Cheers Robbie. The repair work starts this evening. Doesnt look like this breeze is going to die down anytime soon !

Kashkai

Wow, I go away from Boards for a few months and miss out on this Radian thread!

So Robbie has become the Radian guru, eh????:D Don't listen to him lads because I did and now I've got seven planes and a heli. He must have shares in some foam company:P

Seriously though, that man recommended the Radian to me and gave me my first flying lesson. If I had done what a lot of you did, and gave it a shot by myself,I too would have been reaching for the superglue or worse, a plastic bin bag for the pieces. Robbie knows his stuff and he showed me that the Radian can quickly bite you in the a$$ if you do something silly. The day we met for the flying lesson, he connected his transmitter up to mine using a buddy cord so I could fly the plane but if I got into trouble, he could take over instantly. Thats the best way to learn lads and it will save you from the "walk of shame" to pick up whats left of your plane. Saying that, accidents can and will happen, no matter how experienced you are.

I'm flying about 16 months now and have the Radian, a Supercub, a Trojan, a Messerschmit 109, a Wildcat, a micro Trojan, a P51 Mustang and a Syma Helicopter. I'd like to think I'm a good flyer but bad things happen, whether its a noobie mistake, a bad gust of wind or a fault with the aircraft's electrics or airframe. The thing is, these foam planes can be repaired so easily using glue or my own favourite, epoxy that sets harder than the original foam, and you can be back flying in no time. Don't let a crash put you off as there are only two types of flyers, those who have crashed and those who have yet to crash;)

Finally my own little 2 cents worth of advice:

1. Fly high as altitude is your friend. If you make a mistake at low level, then the plane will be in the ground before you know it. If you have sufficient height (at least 100feet), then you can recover from a mistake.

2. Fly in a wide open space away from trees, powerlines, telephone lines etc as its amazing how they can suddenly appear and hit your plane:rolleyes:. Don't believe me, then check youtube for videos of Radians hitting poles and disintergrating. Its also very embarrassing if your plane gets stuck high up in a tree:D

3. Do a good pre-flight inspection to make sure all control surfaces are working properly and in the right direction, i.e. if you pull back on the elevator control stick, the elevator goes up and not down. Check that there are no loose control horns and that all control surfaces are attached properly. I use blenderm 3M tape on my control surfaces in case the original hinges fail. The Radians rudder is fragile and mine almost came off once so this is when I started using the blenderm tape.

4. Do a range check before each flight to make sure that there is sufficient radio signal between your transmitter and receiver. I started doing this AFTER I had a flyaway with my Radian. I had her up high but the batteries in my transmitter were weak and I lost the radio link and she flew away. Trust me thats a very sickening sight. I watched her until she crashed about a mile away. She was still in one piece when I found her but I learned my lesson and I now do a range check before every flight. Check out my youtube page at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj5vND4VWTk and have a look at "Radian Flyaway". I had a camera attached to the wing and it captured the moment I lost control right up to the point where she crashed.

Oh and finally, finally, get yourself a cheap keyfob camera (I picked one up on ebay for 1p with a fiver postage) and velcro it to the Rad's wing for some great aerial footage to watch on your pc when you get home. This is the one I have but I'm glad I didn't pay $80 for it:Dhttp://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/c52b/

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

So Robbie has become the Radian guru, eh????

When was this? I thought i was recommending it to you at one stage:)

How are you getting on with the helicopter?

poteen

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

Wow, I go away from Boards for a few months and miss out on this Radian thread!

So Robbie has become the Radian guru, eh????:D Don't listen to him lads because I did and now I've got seven planes and a heli. He must have shares in some foam company:P

Seriously though, that man recommended the Radian to me and gave me my first flying lesson. If I had done what a lot of you did, and gave it a shot by myself,I too would have been reaching for the superglue or worse, a plastic bin bag for the pieces. Robbie knows his stuff and he showed me that the Radian can quickly bite you in the a$$ if you do something silly. The day we met for the flying lesson, he connected his transmitter up to mine using a buddy cord so I could fly the plane but if I got into trouble, he could take over instantly. Thats the best way to learn lads and it will save you from the "walk of shame" to pick up whats left of your plane. Saying that, accidents can and will happen, no matter how experienced you are.

I'm flying about 16 months now and have the Radian, a Supercub, a Trojan, a Messerschmit 109, a Wildcat, a micro Trojan, a P51 Mustang and a Syma Helicopter. I'd like to think I'm a good flyer but bad things happen, whether its a noobie mistake, a bad gust of wind or a fault with the aircraft's electrics or airframe. The thing is, these foam planes can be repaired so easily using glue or my own favourite, epoxy that sets harder than the original foam, and you can be back flying in no time. Don't let a crash put you off as there are only two types of flyers, those who have crashed and those who have yet to crash;)

Finally my own little 2 cents worth of advice:

1. Fly high as altitude is your friend. If you make a mistake at low level, then the plane will be in the ground before you know it. If you have sufficient height (at least 100feet), then you can recover from a mistake.

2. Fly in a wide open space away from trees, powerlines, telephone lines etc as its amazing how they can suddenly appear and hit your plane:rolleyes:. Don't believe me, then check youtube for videos of Radians hitting poles and disintergrating. Its also very embarrassing if your plane gets stuck high up in a tree:D

3. Do a good pre-flight inspection to make sure all control surfaces are working properly and in the right direction, i.e. if you pull back on the elevator control stick, the elevator goes up and not down. Check that there are no loose control horns and that all control surfaces are attached properly. I use blenderm 3M tape on my control surfaces in case the original hinges fail. The Radians rudder is fragile and mine almost came off once so this is when I started using the blenderm tape.

4. Do a range check before each flight to make sure that there is sufficient radio signal between your transmitter and receiver. I started doing this AFTER I had a flyaway with my Radian. I had her up high but the batteries in my transmitter were weak and I lost the radio link and she flew away. Trust me thats a very sickening sight. I watched her until she crashed about a mile away. She was still in one piece when I found her but I learned my lesson and I now do a range check before every flight. Check out my youtube page at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj5vND4VWTk and have a look at "Radian Flyaway". I had a camera attached to the wing and it captured the moment I lost control right up to the point where she crashed.

Oh and finally, finally, get yourself a cheap keyfob camera (I picked one up on ebay for 1p with a fiver postage) and velcro it to the Rad's wing for some great aerial footage to watch on your pc when you get home. This is the one I have but I'm glad I didn't pay $80 for it:Dhttp://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/c52b/

Maybe its time we set up a Parkzone Radian Thread at this stahe. The title of this thread is probably a bit misleading now!

Have you any link for that Keyfob camera you got ?

Also, How will I know when the AA batterys in my Transmitter are dying?

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

I had her up high but the batteries in my transmitter were weak and I lost the radio link and she flew away. Trust me thats a very sickening sight. I watched her until she crashed about a mile away. She was still in one piece when I found her but I learned my lesson and I now do a range check before every flight.

The best way to check battery status is with the battery indicators. A DX6 or DX7 wont have a weaker signal as the battery voltage reduces as they have 3.3v regulators in them for the transmitting board, and so they will have full strength signal and then suddenly nothing if the batteries are let run down. A range check would tell nothing about the batteries except if they were already almost dead.

Bruthal

poteen wrote: »

Maybe its time we set up a Parkzone Radian Thread at this stahe. The title of this thread is probably a bit misleading now!

Have you any link for that Keyfob camera you got ?

Here is one place anyway.

Also, How will I know when the AA batterys in my Transmitter are dying?

On the DX5e with the radian there are 4 led indicators, 3 green and 1 red. When it gets to the 3rd green one its time to change batteries.

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

He must have shares in some foam company:P

Id be better off with shares in superglue at this stage:eek:

Kashkai

robbie7730 wrote: »

When was this? I thought i was recommending it to you at one stage:)

How are you getting on with the helicopter?

Don't know if you misunderstood but that was a compliment;). I'm not the only guy flying a Radian who learned at Robbie's Radian school:D.

The little heli is an indoor only model but its great fun. Its a co-axial one and so is very easy to fly and I fly it round the house annoying my wife as she tries to do the houswork:D

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

Don't know if you misunderstood but that was a compliment;). I'm not the only guy flying a Radian who learned at Robbie's Radian school:D.

The little heli is an indoor only model but its great fun. Its a co-axial one and so is very easy to fly and I fly it round the house annoying my wife as she tries to do the houswork:D

I know i posted that above before finished as set bloody pan on fire in kitchen:D. I thought you disapeared

Yea we have a co-axial here, amazingly i find the trex 600 easier to fly. But of course the co-axial can be tried by anyone. I find it quite a challenge to fly from room to room with it.

Kashkai

robbie7730 wrote: »

The best way to check battery status is with the battery indicators. A DX6 or DX7 wont have a weaker signal as the battery voltage reduces as they have 3.3v regulators in them for the transmitting board, and so they will have full strength signal and then suddenly nothing if the batteries are let run down. A range check would tell nothing about the batteries except if they were already almost dead.

My DX5 was the culprit when I lost the Radian (recovered a mle away after an hours search thankfully) and she was down to the 3rd LED from the left when this happened.

My DX6i has a voltage readout on the LED display that shows the volts in the alkaline batteries that I use (energiser lithiums). The display currently shows 7.4v with fresh batteries, There is a mod to fit a rechargable battery pack instead but I get about 4 months out of my energisers before the volts drop down to the 4.8 v mark which is when Spektrum (the makers of the tx) recommend that you change them for a fresh set. So I don't think its worth teh while doing the mod.

I believe your DX7 has the rechargable pack Robbie, doesn't it? The downsides with rechargables is that they can die very quickly, i.e. one moment you have power, the next you don't.

Bruthal

I did a flight 2.5 km out over the sea with the radian a few weeks ago, video of it on youtube, the sea was affecting the range, id say a secondary signal was reflecting off the sea and arriving a fraction later than the direct signal and interfering with it. Flew across a bay to a headland.

Kashkai

robbie7730 wrote: »

I know i posted that above before finished as set bloody pan on fire in kitchen:D. I thought you disapeared

Yea we have a co-axial here, amazingly i find the trex 600 easier to fly. But of course the co-axial can be tried by anyone. I find it quite a challenge to fly from room to room with it.

Ah now I understand. I thought you were miffed with me for some reason. I've nothing but praise for you mate, except when I get my latest credit card bill and its a hefty one as I've bought another plane/spares/batteries/telemetry equipment etc etc:eek: Thats when I have a little mutter about that guy Robbie who tempted me into rc flying and sucked me down into a debt ridden world:D

I haven't been flying the past two months (except for a couple of short 20 minute sessions) as my Dad was seriosly ill with cancer later complicated by a stroke. He died a few weeks back and I'm only now getting my head together to even think about flying again. Although, reading some of these posts has gotten me thinking about maybe we should set up a Boards flying club. Something to think about maybe?

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

My DX5 was the culprit when I lost the Radian (recovered a mle away after an hours search thankfully) and she was down to the 3rd LED from the left when this happened.

My DX6i has a voltage readout on the LED display that shows the volts in the alkaline batteries that I use (energiser lithiums). The display currently shows 7.4v with fresh batteries, There is a mod to fit a rechargable battery pack instead but I get about 4 months out of my energisers before the volts drop down to the 4.8 v mark which is when Spektrum (the makers of the tx) recommend that you change them for a fresh set. So I don't think its worth teh while doing the mod.

I believe your DX7 has the rechargable pack Robbie, doesn't it? The downsides with rechargables is that they can die very quickly, i.e. one moment you have power, the next you don't.

Yes i use a lipo in my dx7. I didnt do the switching regulator mod that some recommend, but i did put a pair of diodes into the radio which takes about 0.7 or so volts off the lipo. I also brought the voltage alarm up from the 9v to 10v in the sort of hidden menu they have.

Rechargeables maintain a more stable voltage than standard AA`s but do reach a sudden point where the voltage rapidly drops off alright, where as standard AA`s just continously reduce gradually in voltage, but monitoring of the voltage should be easy enough. In my case with the lipo it would give a fair while to get the plane down after the 10v alarm sounds. But i always check voltage regularly anyway.

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

I haven't been flying the past two months (except for a couple of short 20 minute sessions) as my Dad was seriosly ill with cancer later complicated by a stroke. He died a few weeks back and I'm only now getting my head together to even think about flying again.

Sorry to hear that, anything like that puts perspective on many things.

Kashkai

It does indeed but its made me realise (finally) that life is short and so its there to be enjoyed. Therefore, I'm going to dust my birds off and get them back up in the air as flying is what I enjoy most in life. Nothing like watching my lovely Radian gliding gracefully around the sky or swooping overhead like a bird of prey.

The next step for me is fpv I think and I'm looking at this system for starters:
http://www.foxtechfpv.com/foxtech-fy21ap-ii-stabilization-system-and-rth-unit-with-new-ap-p-174.html

These little boxes of tricks serve two functions:
1. A flight stabilisation system to keep the plane steady in high winds
2. A return to base system for when the radio link is lost or when you want the plane to fly back to the launch point on autopilot.

They can be paired with a set of fpv goggles http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewitem.asp?idproduct=15126 linked to a base station. As I use 2.4ghz txs, I'd have to invest in a 5.8 ghz system. Its not cheap but I'd love to fly fpv using the goggles as it would be the next thing to a "birds eye view". I might have to invest in a new, bigger glider as all that equipment, including a camera would be a tight fit inside the Radian.

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

It does indeed but its made me realise (finally) that life is short and so its there to be enjoyed. Therefore, I'm going to dust my birds off and get them back up in the air as flying is what I enjoy most in life. Nothing like watching my lovely Radian gliding gracefully around the sky or swooping overhead like a bird of prey.

Funny you mention bird of prey, i often think thats what the cularis is like when silently sailing around the sky. I came in for a low pass a few weeks ago and a cat was crossing the green and he did not notice it until it was 15 feet above, the fright he got, shot straight into the bushes.

The next step for me is fpv I think and I'm looking at this system for starters:
http://www.foxtechfpv.com/foxtech-fy21ap-ii-stabilization-system-and-rth-unit-with-new-ap-p-174.html

These little boxes of tricks serve two functions:
1. A flight stabilisation system to keep the plane steady in high winds
2. A return to base system for when the radio link is lost or when you want the plane to fly back to the launch point on autopilot.

I have the eagle tree pro, stabilization is not needed on the radian at all and needs ailerons to work well anyway, high winds are not a great time to be flying FPV with a light aircraft as any auotpilot would struggle in it. The biggest problem with windy conditions is the glider can come close to or a complete stop compared to the ground, then the direction home arrow gets confused etc. On windy days i will only fly FPV direct into the wind, so now if the autopilot comes on, its much easier for it to come back.

The one thing the eagle tree pro has which i have not seen on any other system yet is the actual position of the aircraft compared to you. Not to be confused with a home direction arrow, the position icon shows exactly where the plane is relative to where you are. It is highly invaluable, as this position cant be wrong even if the home arrow is confused by the ground speed going close to zero, as the position indicator is gps based, where as the direction arrow is based on changing gps position, which is not happening in a non moving plane. If you look at my FPV video with the eagle tree system on it, you can see the gliders position icon. I wouldnt fly without it now. The home arrow wont tell you if the glider is to your left or right, or indeed behind you.

They can be paired with a set of fpv goggles http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewitem.asp?idproduct=15126 linked to a base station. As I use 2.4ghz txs, I'd have to invest in a 5.8 ghz system. Its not cheap but I'd love to fly fpv using the goggles as it would be the next thing to a "birds eye view". I might have to invest in a new, bigger glider as all that equipment, including a camera would be a tight fit inside the Radian.

We have goggles, it is a great way to fly alright. We use the eagle eyes ground station controller, which i put onto a home made pan and tilt unit and used 2 yacht servos. The eagle eyes thing also has 4 video outputs so you can use the goggles and a tv at the same time, and 2 more items, maybe recorder etc.

Pan and tilt is a must, far far better reception as you can use a patch antenna with far better gain that tracks the glider. Have you seen my video of it in action?

Kashkai

That system I linked to is gps based as well and it also sends back an OSD (on screen display) signal to the goggles that gives you altitude, ground speed, heading etc. I was planning on buying a dedicated fpv glider, perhaps this one from Hobbyking:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewitem.asp?idproduct=14465.

This has the motor running all the time unlike the Radian and thus stalling shouldn't be a problem in headwinds and it should be ok to fly back to you on autopilot as it will be powered again unlike the Rad.

The cost is the one thing holding me back at the moment. I reckon its going to cost close on €500 for all the equipment. I could get a cheaper set up but a guy I know went ahead and bought a fpv set up without the return to base (rtb) gadget and his Radian flew away last weekend with over €300 worth of gear on it. Thats why the rtb is a must have for me if I'm going to go fpv. I've already had one flyaway with my Rad and its an experience I don't want to repeat:o. The autopilot feature would greatly lessen/eliminate the prospect of losing teh plane if I forget myself and fly out of radio range.

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

That system I linked to is gps based as well and it also sends back an OSD (on screen display) signal to the goggles that gives you altitude, ground speed, heading etc.

I was planning on buying a dedicated fpv glider, perhaps this one from Hobbyking
This has the motor running all the time unlike the Radian and thus stalling shouldn't be a problem in headwinds and it should be ok to fly back to you on autopilot as it will be powered again unlike the Rad.

They are all gps based, what i meant was a direction arrow wont be correct if the ground speed is 3km an hour or below. The plane does not have to be stalled. Flying into a 20kph wind at 3kph ground speed has an airspeed of 23kph. What i meant was, while the direction arrow can get confused at low ground speeds, the position icon wont. The position icon is priceless. Without it you dont know precisely where you are. I used to fly a system without it, once you see it with the position icon, there is no going back. Its called the radar indication on the eagle tree pro system.

When the radian goes into a slow groundspeed scenario and the arrow gets confused, you just have to start throttle and its problem solved. But its hard to describe how huge a piece of info the position icon gives you until you see it in action.

You could leave the motor running all the time on the radian just as easy. The great thing about FPV with gliders is the long flight time. We got over an hour a while back, climbed up 1500 feet in a single climb on thermals alone etc during that flight.

Its not quite as easy as you would imagine flying on the fpv either. Lots of info to be watching, and you really are navigating around. Very easy to get lost as to where the glider is. The home arrow only tells you the way back, and will not tell you where the plane actually is, and even a fast plane can drift with side winds. Again the position indicator means you always know where it is. Just giving pointers as i have used a couple of systems.

The cost is the one thing holding me back at the moment. I reckon its going to cost close on €500 for all the equipment. I could get a cheaper set up but a guy I know went ahead and bought a fpv set up without the return to base (rtb) gadget and his Radian flew away last weekend with over €300 worth of gear on it. Thats why the rtb is a must have for me if I'm going to go fpv. I've already had one flyaway with my Rad and its an experience I don't want to repeat:o. The autopilot feature would greatly lessen/eliminate the prospect of losing teh plane if I forget myself and fly out of radio range.

You still have to be careful with the RTH. A fast powerful plane and it will work well. But with a plane like that the flights will be short.

I recommend the eagle tree pro anyway definitely, along with the ground tracking station. I am very familiar with it and that would be a big help for you setting it up. I did a few tricks to have a return to home switch on the radio which they dont actually have as one of their specs, it automatically does RTH when signal lost. So it has the RTH, and the ground tracking station etc as well. And that all important position icon.

Have a close look at my video here, the position icon is the arrow near the centre marker. The centre marker represents home position. And the moving arrow is where the glider is compared to the direction we are facing. It starts off slightly behind me and to the right. This position marker is the best thing i seen so far in FPV setups.

This video was recorded direct from the ground station so is exactly what we were seeing during flight. So for example, around 1:40 into the video, the radian is just over 1km away, and out in front of and slightly to the left of my position, and is heading north as i was facing north west(its heading to my right and away from me). I tell the system i was facing north west before the flight by putting in the degrees i was facing(315 in this case)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qS2ftfTtJo

poteen

Just looking at the weather for the next few days and its bad ! pretty much since the day I got my radian its been windy and that wind is going to last until at least Monday :mad:

Its not meant to be !