...on a sunny Saturday afternoon Beautiful weekend weather begged for some flying, so I headed down to the paddock with the Firstar EDF conversion. The first flight of this has been on a cold & overcast morning, so this afternoon would be an opportunity to try out the big FPv plane in some sunny weather.
With the straight-shooting EDF unit, the flight characteristics are much more aligned with its close cousin, the phoenix 2000 glider, making it a real pleasure to fly. And today enjoying having a bit of fun cruising it around the open space of the paddocks. Whilst EDF's are known energy hogs, the Forstar flies so much better and truer that I still think the overall performance and duration can't be worse than with that huge prop tower and negative thrust line. This still has to be tested when I get some proper FPV flying done, but even just punting the Firstar around is so much more fun now...
...sunrise and mist Going into autumn I again have the opportunity to enjoy sunrises at the field as they coincide with my journey to work. On this particular occasion there was the extra bonus of mist covering the outer fields.
In the suburbs mist is a rare visitor, so I feel especially to spent time with this ethereal visitor, so quickly dispelled with the approach of the sun's rays.
The window of sunrise was quite small, one of those where the light squeezes between horizon and clouds for a few minutes, blossoming brightness growing again quickly dull as the sun heads into the clouds. Nevertheless, it was a beautifully tranquil morning, with a mix of clouds, mist and sun...
The Firstar's high-mounted pusher endows it with characteristics familiar of the breed; it's not nice to launch. True, the V2 mount is angled to eliminate torque which rotates the nose, however the high-moun configuration cannot escape from a downward thrust component. As well as gobbling up battery capacity in cruise mode, it also makes launches tricky.
Having lived through AXN and Radjet, I'm over launch stress, which is why I like using flaps with the Firstar. Now I know this is contentious but, in this case at least, it works. Usually I'm fumbling to get my launch hand on the radio before the Firstar hits the turf. And I'm not the only one, I've seen several unsuccessful attempts at getting a Firstar into the air. Considering that this plane sports high-aspect glider wings, launch really shouldn't be an issue. Which is where the flaps come in; dialing in about 20 degrees of flap transforms the launch from a nail biting affair into a floaty cruise, with the big big hanging in the air patiently while you get your hands into position. Nice and easy, just like it should be...
...brief but successful The first flight of the Firstar 2000 was also my first outing with my new Taranis, with the latter being much more of a headache to configure than was the former. However the Firstar disappointingly have a number of quality issues which first required resolving. The morning was a little gusty, with the northerly coming through earlier than expected. I opted to fly the Firstar with two 2200 3S packs which seemed to give the required cog. Volantex suggest running this off a 1800 3S, but seriously...?
Despite the Firstar V2 having the revised motor mount which reduces nose-down rotation due to the moment, this configuration still pushes the plane downwards and consequently there is the balancing act with the amount of power you use to launch. As such the launch went OK, although I needed to rush to get both hands onto the radio controls after I'd thrown it. Of course, if you have someone to throw it for you this isn't an issue. As you'd expect with the high aspect glider wings, it flies, and glides, very stably although the downward effect of the motor spoils its cruising performance in my opinion. The flight was cut short by my inability to trim it out. No fault of the Firstar but rather programming glitches with the Taranis which I have subsequently fixed, but the Firstar landed without issue to complete a rather abbreviated but nevertheless successful maiden flight...
...what's in the box The Firstar 2000 V2 arrives double boxed, with the inner being the stylish new Volantex picture box. Taking the lid off reveals everything to be very nicely wrapped and arranged, with a number of dividers and individual boxes. As per a number of the Volantex/Lanyu products (Trainstar and Phoenix gliders to name two) the wings and tail are EPO whilst the fuselage is a nice-quality plastic moulding. Something new from Volantex, the EPO is painted and I think this is the source of the problem; the aileron surfaces are extremely warped, the EPO has also shrunk overall, breaking the join around the flap mouldings and causing the wing bases to curve, meaning the wings don't join square. Anyhow, more on Volantex's declining quality separately.
The fuselage is large and roomy, happily accommodating two 2200 3S batteries side by side. The tail servos are located to the rear under the wing mounting, meaning that the whole of the front fuselage areas is free for batteries and electronics. There is a large moulded snap-on canopy, however I can see most people dispensing with this and mounting cameras onto the EPO cover section. This provides a flat camera mounting area up front with a moulded slot for a pan servo, and the moulding slips underneath the motor mount. The V2 motor mount is angled, pointing at the centre of lift, and screws onto the mid-section of the fuselage. The propellor is the familiar unit used on the Phoenix gliders, with the spinner modified for the pusher-role to prevent the props flipping forward. All servos, including for the flaps, are pre-installed but you need to mount the control horns and linkages yourself. So overall a nice plane let down by rather dodgy build quality from Volantex which they attribute to the shipping process...
...that didn't end well Having been doing laps of the paddocks with the Floater Jet in an effort to fine tune the mobius FPV system and maximise the range, I decided to give the system a try on the DC-3 because this would sit the transmitter further away from motors and battery than was possible in the confines of the Floater Jet.
I must admit having some misgivings about this venture as the DC-3, in this fixed-undercarriage guise anyway, is a rather unstable platform, having a tendency to nose up heading into the wind or on too much throttle, ending up in a dramatic stall as is ries to climb ever more steeply.
The flight went OK until, at the extreme of range, the DC-3 flew in the radio shadow of the tree bordering the field. Usually I'd been more careful and stood in the middle of the paddocks to avoid just such an event. Being at the limits of transmission, the modest tree, that one which I have flown into numerous times, was sufficient to completely block the video signal. I cut power and it dipped a little, then started to climb. When the video flashed back on all I could see was blue sky. Dipping down again, I have slight glimpses from the camera, desperately trying to compensate the increasingly wild flight of the Dakota. Unfortunately the video never restored sufficiently, the signal failing again before, finally, there was just static as I stood, still holding the elevator down, just in case it may still help...
...getting there Lately I've been doing a lot of FPV flying, almost all of it with the Floater Jet, as I try to fine-tune the system and push the boundaries to determine what's reliably possible. Although the flying isn't spectacular, one benefit is that there's plenty of pleasant scenery and, on this particular afternoon, lovely clouds in abundance.
While the FPVsystem doesn't have the capability to go flying in the clouds, it's enough to get a pleasant view and see the cloud footprints dotting the landscape. So far the mobius and dock have managed to go 1.2km while still maintaining a clear, if graining, picture. As regards height I wouldn't not sure as my estimation is not very accurate. However we'll be getting a variometer with altimeter soon, so will be able to check how we're doing on altitude...
...pretty good so far
As I mentioned before, I've recently got an FPV system to complement the Mobius, consisting of a Docking Station with integrated FT592 transmitter and a RX-LCD5802 monitor with integrated receiver and battery.
This works straight up with the FT592 transmitter, however a little trial and error is required to get a frequency which is free from 2.4GHz interference. While there shouldn't be any, it can happen if there isn't a solid link between Tx and Rx.
After having tried several combinations, I've settled on channel D3 as suggested in an online forum, and found it to provide solid video quality up to around 800m, when it starts to get grainy. Ultimate range is around 900m, with the interference bands appearing and the video losing colour. Worthy to note that the Mobius doesn't have to be recording to output video, and that likewise it will not switch off with the power input via the integrated voltage regulator. Also, if you do have your Mobius recording and the card fills, there's no fatal error. In fact you get a warning displayed on the monitor but you can carry on flying.
So I'm pretty happy with a solid 800m range from this mini system. However, as I'm wanting better range than that, I'm going to try a helical antenna, although I'll be getting a budget version as I'm not going to spend $100 on a copper spiral...
For a while I've been considering getting an FPV system but, with the complexity, cost and choice of systems and components out there, I had deferred on the matter indefinitely.
A few things bothered me; firstly having to have two cameras because the supplied FPV cameras only supply video without storage capability. Secondly goggles; purported to be the best to provide an immersive experience but having low resolution and a limited field of view for the most-part, unless you're happy to spend the best part of $1,000 on HD goggles. And having to buy corrective lenses separately if you wear glasses.
Then I discovered that they'd released a Mobius Docking Station with a built-in transmitter. This takes care of getting the video stream from your mobius while still enabling you to record as you would usually. All that is required is a 2-4S power input on a JST plug, making it a simple plug-and-play application.
Next, reviewing FPV screens as a cost-effective alternative, I came across the RX-LCD5802, a 7 inch FPV Monitor with a 800x480 screen. What's nice is that is has integrated 5.8GHz 32CH diversity receiver and built-in battery. Furthermore, the screen image is clear and bright and it has OSD and an auto-search facility. Only, get this off eBay; the same thing just much cheaper!
The net result is remarkably simple and effective; connect the antenna to the dock, slide the mobius into the dock and connect a power via a JST lead. The mobius should power-on automatically and you'll now be transmitting video!
Then, screw the antennas onto the RX-LCD5802, hit the power button and within a second you'll be seeing crisp clear footage straight off your mobius.
...watch it on YouTube I had hoped to sneak in a flight this morning but the weather was blustery. And it hasn't improved since, with the metrology reporting wind speeds in excess of sixty kilometres per hour. At that rate the Walrus would have slowly receded into the distance...
However the day has not been wasted, with cheeryman creating an impressive Zen FlyingOfficial Trailer. I'll certainly be watching the weather to get the Walrus and camera out to have a good fly, and to collect some video footage which I must admit to enjoy watching afterwards. I can certainly understand the appeal of FPV flying...
