R2 Hobbies Raptor Glider D-Box Pro. First Flight with Wingtip Camera.

...got there eventually



For some while, after having seen footage of wingtip cameras, I've been meaning to give this a go on one of my planes. The plane I'd choose would be the Raptor glider, given its very large wing area meaning it wouldn't be likely to miss a bit of lift from the spot occupied by the Mobius, and also it being very stable.



There was a catch however, given that I most often fly it in the morning when the grass is saturated with dew and, being a glider, the wingtips drag through the grass, meaning that the Mobius was likely to get a soaking.

However, having dallied about this for some time, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try regardless. As regards the yaw and roll likely as a result of the bluff form of the Mobius on the wingtip, I decided on two clicks each of right rudder and aileron and, as regards keeping the Mobius dry, the mitigation was to land the Raptor as slowly as possible, with flaps deployed, and then use full right aileron as it was coming to a standstill to keep the left wingtip off the wet grass.



Throwing the Raptor into the air I was amazed that the few clicks of trim were sufficient to keep it flying straight, at least at low speed, so I was soon able to fly it with confidence that nothing untoward was going to happen. It turns out that the angle at which I set the Mobius was a little too forward-pointing so that the tail is lost from the view, which is a pity as it's nice to see the controls at work during the flight.



Nevertheless you get to see the aileron twitching right next to the camera, and the view is great, especially during loops and sharp turns, the latter particularly at low altitude as towards the end of the flight.



And so to the final hurdle; I brought the Raptor is super-slow, touched it down and hit full right aileron to keep the Mobius up as long as possible. The extra mass meant that, eventually, the camera touched the grass.



Running to retrieve it, I picked up the glider to check the Mobius; it was completely covered in dew. I gave it a quick dry-off and then stuck it atop the air vent as I drove to work, and then parked it at the back of my computer to dry out in the warm breeze. Finally, plugging it in, revealed that fortunately the Mobius was no worse for wear...