RV Jet Pics

[Flygirl]

This has been a pretty big project so far... This is a very powerful big plane but honestly, it's almost a piece of cake to fly. It's really really stable despite the speed and size. I've flown it FPV once so far with no issues. I have yet to try the autopilot modes and am just concentrating on getting the baseline values put in to the autopilot as well as getting used to flying it. We tried launching off a ramp which worked but there wasn't much leeway and the big 13 inch prop actually cut a few blades of grass before lifting. 

Going to try flying the Pandora FPV tomorrow using my Mobius. Pics and video to come. Meanwhile, here are some pics of the RV Jet from last weekends flights and a video from the GoPro mounted in the nose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMgXripVOxs

[XF-15DCC]

RE: RV Jet Pics

Now that looks cool!

Where did you find this?

[rc-eflyer]

RE: RV Jet Pics

Really neat project Flygirl! Looking forward to seeing and learning more about your FPV experiences. As far as your ramp goes, have you considered a surgical rubber bungee assist. I used to do a lot Zagi flying with a small ramp like yours and some heavy duty tubing to give you that quick burst of power to get up to speed.

Steve

[Flygirl]

RE: RV Jet Pics

Now that looks cool!

Where did you find this?

Hi XF! It's made by Range Video. They sell it and so does GetFPV.com... Flite Test did a review on it and I was sold. :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10elJdtyNBA

[hr]

Really neat project Flygirl!  Looking forward to seeing and learning more about your FPV experiences.  As far as your ramp goes, have you considered a surgical rubber bungee assist.  I used to do a lot Zagi flying with a small ramp like yours and some heavy duty tubing to give you that quick burst of power to get up to speed.

Steve

Hi Steve and thanks! It does have a hook for a bungee cord but we saw a NASA blurb about how they were launching their wings so we made one. It's actually very easy to hand launch which is the way I prefer at the moment. It's so powerful that all you really have to do is guide it and not throw it. We're changing the angle a bit on the ramp to see how that does but the next step will be a bungee assist. :-)

[PappaBear]

RE: RV Jet Pics

This has been a pretty big project so far... This is a very powerful big plane but honestly, it's almost a piece of cake to fly. It's really really stable despite the speed and size. I've flown it FPV once so far with no issues. I have yet to try the autopilot modes and am just concentrating on getting the baseline values put in to the autopilot as well as getting used to flying it. We tried launching off a ramp which worked but there wasn't much leeway and the big 13 inch prop actually cut a few blades of grass before lifting. 

Going to try flying the Pandora FPV tomorrow using my Mobius. Pics and video to come. Meanwhile, here are some pics of the RV Jet from last weekends flights and a video from the GoPro mounted in the nose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMgXripVOxs

Hi Lauren,

I'm impressed, the quality of the pictures is very good. I take it the camera is a GoPro, is that right. I use a GoPro myself for aerial photography. What is the autopilot you are using, and what is the TX that send s the pictures back to your monitor or FPV goggles.

Martin.

[Flygirl]

RE: RV Jet Pics

This has been a pretty big project so far... This is a very powerful big plane but honestly, it's almost a piece of cake to fly. It's really really stable despite the speed and size. I've flown it FPV once so far with no issues. I have yet to try the autopilot modes and am just concentrating on getting the baseline values put in to the autopilot as well as getting used to flying it. We tried launching off a ramp which worked but there wasn't much leeway and the big 13 inch prop actually cut a few blades of grass before lifting. 

Going to try flying the Pandora FPV tomorrow using my Mobius. Pics and video to come. Meanwhile, here are some pics of the RV Jet from last weekends flights and a video from the GoPro mounted in the nose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMgXripVOxs

Hi Lauren,

I'm impressed, the quality of the pictures is very good. I take it the camera is a GoPro, is that right. I use a GoPro myself for aerial photography. What is the autopilot you are using, and what is the TX that send s the pictures back to your monitor or FPV goggles.

Martin.

Right on the money Martin...! It's a Hero 3 Silver mounted in a Pan and Tilt gimbal. I've got a little jello going on but I'm not sure I can make it any better. I've balanced the motor, props, and spinner as best as I could but I just can't seem to get all the vibrations out. There's a lot of prop and aluminum spinning back there. The autopilot is a Range Video OSD although I think if I had it to do all over again I'd probably lean towards the Eagle Tree Vector system. The OSD's are both very busy with F-16 ladders and such but the Eagle Tree seems to be a simpler more modular design and it's cheaper. But, so far so good with the RV OSD. I just have to get used to switching modes and at the moment it's a bit tense because when you enter the in-flight menus to change modes, the plane goes into stabilization mode and your right stick becomes disabled for anything but the way you select things in the menu. That's a bit spooky for me yet.... LOL! 

The video transmitter is an ImmersionRC 600mW board and I'm using an IBCrazy 5.8 LHCP antenna. I'm using FatShark Predator goggles which are fine. I have trouble flying with a monitor because I find myself switching back and forth between FPV and LOS which can be disorientating at least for me. I do better when I'm under the goggles. I have an ImmersionRC EZ UHF LRS system for the plane but I swapped it out for a standard Spektrum A8000 receiver for now. It goes far enough for me at the moment while getting the bugs out and getting used to navigating the menus.

What are you using the GoPro on Martin?

[Alpha]

RE: RV Jet Pics

Very neat. These can get pricy quickly as you add components, depending on the quality of your gear. But the aircraft itself is a nice platform and has quite a following in FPV circles.

[Flygirl]

RE: RV Jet Pics

Very neat. These can get pricy quickly as you add components, depending on the quality of your gear. But the aircraft itself is a nice platform and has quite a following in FPV circles.

Thanks Alpha! And yes, pricey is the word when you start adding electronics. I figure I have about $800 or so into this thing with $300 of it being the autopilot/OSD alone. If one wanted to just fly it as a plane with the regular foam nose cone (comes with the kit) you're still talking about $300 with the power pack and servos. Besides, if it is FPV you want to fly then there are many cheaper planes and ways to do that. Heck, the little Sport Cub S with the little Spectrum FPV camera/transmitter module works great and is tons of fun! I flew my Pandora FPV last weekend and had a ball which has convinced a few of our club members (heavily into FPV. One of the members just got FAA certified) that the Pandora might actually be a pretty good platform for doing aerial mapping given how stable and rugged it is. I think I'm going to move the Mobius docking station over to my Seagull but I have to make a foam mount to put in place of the canopy to mount the docking station to. The Seagull being a pusher would get the prop out of the camera sight lines. Anyways, I'm having fun with all this stuff and the challenge of getting the RV Jet up to it's potential keeps things constantly new and exciting. Thanks for the comment!