Winged FPV: A fun way to share the hobby
Jim T. Graham
jgraham@rcgroups.com
If you read my column, you know I have a widespread interest in most aspects of the hobby. A few years ago, I received my first quadcopter. That immediately led to my desire to shoot video from the air and that led to FPV, which required a whole new set of skills. I’m pretty sure this is the part I liked the best.
After being in the hobby for a certain amount of time, you know the basics: setting up a transmitter, building, servos, repair, what to do when CA glue gets in your eye, and much more.
FPV: Old Dogs Learn New Tricks
FPV demands that you learn new things. These tend to be important because your FPV setup is what connects you with your aircraft. I have “smoked” a few video cameras in my learning process.
I started on RC rock crawlers because I knew if I got in trouble, I
could simply stop moving. With a truck, there is no plummeting to the earth! Then I moved on to quadcopters.
I started out in the 450- to 550-size range, but I began going smaller. This allowed me to fly 10 feet off the ground in my backyard. Don’t get concerned—I’m talking about quads the size of your hand and made of plastic. I can tell you, flying something like that will give you just as much adrenaline as a big quadcopter.
Winged FPV
My FPV adventures then turned to winged aircraft. My initial thought was that it would be hard to fly an airplane. You can stop a quad, and turn and figure out where you are. With a winged aircraft, if you slow down too much you will meet terra firma! I’m happy to say I was wrong!
Have you ever flown a flight simulator from the cockpit? It’s much easier than flying from the ground. That is exactly what winged FPV is like. It’s similar to flying a full-scale airplane.
My first attempts were with large RC airplanes—60-inch wingspans or more—that would take off from a runway. I then started looking into lighter equipment so I could fly FPV with the smaller foam airplanes that I have.
What I really wanted was an uncomplicated foam airplane that I could fly. I jumped on the Ready Made RC website and found an airplane
called the Surfer 1500. Many people look at that model and say, “That’s a copy of the (insert airplane name here)!” It’s a pusher-style airplane, and as far as I’m concerned, it all started with the Easy Star. The Easy Star was one of the first electric airplanes I ever owned. I still have my first one that must be 12 years old. I built it to race in the Easy Star races at the Southeast Electric Flight Festival. I almost won with that airplane, but I grabbed a pole on the last round. What a forgiving airplane. I’m excited to say that the Ready Made RC Surfer 1500 is just as forgiving. I’m not writing today about that airplane in particular. I wanted to share the RC experience that I had via this FPV platform.
I took this mid-size foamie and installed a $30 video camera from SurveilZone and a spare 5.9 GHz video transmitter. That’s it. I didn’t put a flight board or any kind of GPS-related gear in the airplane. I kept it simple and light. The video transmitter communicates with my HeadPlay goggles (approximately: $250). All of that equates to a low-cost, lightweight, easy-to-transport FPV rig that nearly anyone can fly.
I went out with Jason Cole and we flew the maiden flight. I throttled up to half, gave it a throw, and was in the cockpit of the airplane, flying around our airfield. Awesome! We had some RCGroups FPV racing through gates made and set one up. After a few passes, I was shooting through the gate. The system quickly instilled confidence!
FPV and the Public
The day after the maiden flight, it was time to head out to Leipers Fork, Tennessee, to my annual Profile airplane event, NashBro. I decided that the Surfer 1500 would be a great thing to have with me.
After getting our event underway, we had some visitors. It was a family with kids of various ages. I immediately put a fresh battery in my FPV airplane and got it ready. I had the family sit in some folding chairs I brought and invited them to fly the field with me. I flew though my HeadPlay goggles and had an extra set of Skyzone FPV goggles. I also had a video monitor that picked up the FPV feed.
Each family member experienced RC from the cockpit of my airplane. The reaction to actually being in the sky was positive from everyone whom I put the goggles on. The only complaint I heard was when I did some low inverted flight. One person had to take the goggles off!
I continued to give FPV rides for the next four days. From the youngest child, to the oldest adult, everyone enjoyed it. It allowed them to “fly” without having to be at the controls.
Many see FPV as a threat to the hobby. I agree that we need to get it under control so we can continue to enjoy the hobby, and that is one of the roles of AMA officials. They put in the long hours so you and I can go out and enjoy aeromodeling. If we fly FPV responsibly, we might also win over some future pilots in the process.
Soaring through the air via FPV might be something an 8 year old will remember forever. My thirst for flight started at roughly that age at an air show in Texas. An FPV ride could be the spark that rekindles the flame for flight in a whole generation!
If you haven’t taken a ride via FPV, I strongly urge that you do so. I have yet to put anyone in the goggles who didn’t laugh with glee at being in the sky. While some feel FPV has the potential to hurt the hobby, it might also be the thing that takes it into the future!
SOURCES:
Ready Made RC
www.readymaderc.com/support
www.readymaderc.com
RangeVideo
www.rangevideo.com
SurveilZone
surveilzone@gmail.com
www.surveilzone.com
Flight videos and Surfer 1500 review
www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2513549
