Flying RC planes -- its kinda Geeky

Me and a few mates fly RC planes out near Bruce Stadium.. Once an expensive sport, now a cheap one thanks to china. This video is taken from a $80 plane with a $50 radio and a $90 camera...

The larger plane in the video (blue and yellow) is balsa, but under $200 assembled. The plane near the end is the same as the one this camera is strapped to...

 

That's friggin awesome Dan.

 

Do you take off near those new apartments being made? well they are almost finished...
It's like a massive carpark...


EDIT: Yes yes you do! haha i watched the Vid. I live right near there and see them flying around! Quite awesome!!

 

Looks like fun.

Soo, more details?

is the $80 airplane a scratchbuilt jobby?

Whats the camera and radio gear you're using?

 

how cool is that

 

The plane is similar to this one, just an earlier version. These gliders are made out of tough EPO foam. The video not shown is me flying into the large dead tree at about 70klm per hour. Some hot glue and its all back together.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__32084__Hobbyking_Bixler_2_EPO_1500mm_w_Brushless_Motor_Servos_and_Optional_Flaps_ARF_AUS_Warehouse_.html

here is the radio

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__16254__Turnigy_9X_9Ch_Transmitter_w_Module_8ch_Receiver_Mode_1_v2_Firmware_AUS_Warehouse_.html

The camera is just one I got from Jaycar.. 90 dollar HD job. Simply strapped to the canopy like this..

 

I dabbled with RC helis a few years back, but the cheapo chinese ones were so horribly balanced they were nigh on impossible to fly. You had to drop major dosh get get something you could use .

Considered going down the FPV route? (FPV: live video feed to the pilot to fly with a 'cockpit' view)

 

Yeah, we have discussed going to FPV.. little bit extra to setup. The LCD goggles are where its at. You can wear them and have a live cockpit view streaming directly to the glasses. You have to to fly like this...

 

[MENTION=5313]Jdeks[/MENTION] I have a heli but am yet to build it. They are notoriously hard to fly and result in a thousand pieces when crashed. The cheap foam planes can just be glued back together. The plane used to make my video has been crashed multiple times. Hot glue and your back in the air!

 

Big bucks though....and I think you need a VHF operators license or something too. Probably worth contacting CASA as well, some of those get up to GA altitudes (or above...).


Major e-peen for it though.

 

yeah, I reckon this guy may have been breaking some rules...

 

Wow, that's pretty cool.
I have a crappy 2 channel plane I bought god, many years ago, that cost a fair bit more then those. Things have come far with the cheap park flier planes.

I always wanted an RC plane as a kid. I thought about getting an RC chopper a few years ago, when my wife got me a gift voucher from the model store that used to be in philip. I ended up getting a nitro RC car, which is a blast, and while I usually end up crashing it every time I drive it, I find its harder to loose it in a tree etc.. Lol.

RC vehicles are cool.

 

@the_smoo If you're gonna go rotary, go quality. Avoid the pre-built budget ones like Venom or HoneyBee, which is what I got, and it was aTOTAL waste of hundreds of dollars. This was years ago mind you, but from what I hear it's still much the same.

At uni I had an engineer mate who was really into it, did competitive stunt flying and everything - even he couldn't get my POS off the ground into a hover. His advice for new flyers was buy a quality kit from a brand like Blade, then refit with metal rotor gear (better balanced, rigid reliable control input) and the best gyro you can get your hands on. It's an expensive initial outlay but it makes learning way easier, and hence you spend less of replacing broken bits. Do your research and buy the cheapest blades that are balanced, until you get your skills up, then go CF blades (less weight = less balance issues). Getting a decent programmable transmitter (ie not the bundled ones that come with the unit) is also a good idea, so you can use it on multiple aircraft, and the sim programs - apparently it really is good for learning the basic motor skills.

Basically, his advice was if you're gonna do it, get the money and do it properly. Or, just be smart and stick to fixed wing

 

Ha I've seen you guys flying down there, that's a great place for the rcs, I take my rock crawler down there occasionally

 

yeah. I have seen some donuts down there on our 'airstrip'!
[MENTION=5313]Jdeks[/MENTION] I have got a T-Rex 450 heli, so its good quality.. I just dont want to spend hours putting it together only to see it break into a million pieces..

this was the last flight I had of the bixler.. its actually repairable and flyable after hitting the tree!

 

There's an "airfield" out just past Tharwa that I saw when riding by last week. I was on a pushbike so got a good look at some cool looking biplanes on the way out and back.

 

the same airfield that sees lots of sheep enjoying the shed shade when there are no people flying their toys

 

Great video, nice work, I'm looking on the site now for something to buy

 

I thought that was Dick Smith's property.. Though I'm not entirely sure?
Looks pretty well set-up for RC planes.

I got my hands on an RC chopper recently, but haven't been brave enough to pull it out and give it a go yet. It's only a cheapy, so obviously when I can't fly it and break every single part on impact, that's my excuse...
Nah but I plan on pulling it out after exams and spending some time on it, see how we go. Might even strap the GoPro to it, and film my epic failure in FullHD

 

The Tharwa strip is here - https://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=T...near=Tharwa+Australian+Capital+Territory&z=18

Dick Smith's strip is here - https://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=g...84543&t=h&hnear=Gundaroo+New+South+Wales&z=15

Only a slight difference!