On-board footage taken from RC plane

[Turkey]

Hello all.

This is some footage I wanted to share which was taken from my FPV (first person view) RC plane.

Live video is transmitted from the plane to a receiver on the ground - I'm then able to view real-time video via my laptop and fly from the perspective of being on-board the plane.

Location: Somerset, England

Camera: Gopro 3

Plane: Multiplex Easystar 2

[Zipppy]

I'm actually amazed that the GoPro doesn't affect the dynamics of the plane a lot.

[[TC]»Pete«]

Awesome!

Very nice video too. Top stuff man!

[Turkey]

(2013-03-15 01:31)Zipppy Wrote:  I'm actually amazed that the GoPro doesn't affect the dynamics of the plane a lot.

Yes, a lot off people are surprised by that.

The planes handling characteristics do change though - it's actually much more agile and will climb much steeper without the GoPro, but since the plane has a 137cm wingspan, the wings produce plenty of lift to carry it. And on the plus side, the weight has a very nice stabilising effect and it's less twitchy if there's wind.

Of course, most important thing is not how much weight, but that the weight is balanced. If the plane is nose-heavy or tail-heavy the dynamics will be dramatically different and not in a good way.

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(2013-03-15 01:42)Lampshade Wrote:  Awesome!

Very nice video too. Top stuff man!

Thanks mate

[[TC]►Tupex◄]

Wow that was really nice

[Rifo]

Awesome!!

Can you explain little bit more about the live-transmitting ??

[Turkey]

(2013-03-16 07:14)Rifo Wrote:  Awesome!!

Can you explain little bit more about the live-transmitting ??

Sure Rifo.

On board the plane you must have a camera, transmitter and a lipo battery to power them, however you can use the same lipo battery that powers the plane if you want (I do). When you buy a transmitter you'll have to choose a frequency and the power. Some transmitters may be too powerful or the wrong frequency for legal use in your country. You also must not use the same frequency that is being used to control your plane! Anyway I use 5800mhz which is good for distance and the equipment is small, however it's not good for penetrating objects so I can't fly the plane behind trees or buildings. If I wanted to do that though then I could easily buy the equipment for a lower frequency

Then on the ground you have a receiver, also powered by a lipo battery. With the right cables you can then connect the receiver to a laptop, purpose made monitor, or goggles. All this equipment can be bought can be bought on various FPV (first person view) websites.

Also there are many different types of aerials for you're receiver and transmitter. I'd highly recommendatory using circularly polarised aerials, they will keep the image more stable and reduce flickering.

That's the basics, but don't hesitate to ask more questions. If you want to do some research yourself, this type of flying is called FPV.