FPV Drones/Quadcopters

[shootnstarz]

I've had students master the flight sim and couldn't fly the real thing 10 feet without losing it. I also had a 14 year old girl that had never touched a simulator or R/C airplane in her life fly a whole flight without me having to do anything but advise her.

Sims are good tools but few can jump directly from one into a flying model without instruction.

RH

 

[TennJeep1618]

I've had students master the flight sim and couldn't fly the real thing 10 feet without losing it. I also had a 14 year old girl that had never touched a simulator or R/C airplane in her life fly a whole flight without me having to do anything but advise her.

Sims are good tools but few can jump directly from one into a flying model without instruction.

RH

My buddy told me something similar. He said that the physics in the sims are never quite right. He said he can't fly in one of the sims at all, but he can fly the heck out of a real quad. I'm mainly just using the simulator to kill some time and hopefully get familiar with the controls while I decide whether or not I want to actually get into the hobby. For now, I'm just enjoying playing with it as a game.

 

[Seanpcola]

Same thing with airplanes. Ive been flying RC since the 70's but can't make a successful flight on a Sim to save my ass.

 

[shootnstarz]

On the other hand a simulator helped me learn to somewhat fly a helicopter, mainly in learning to hover. As experienced as I am in flying models I cannot hit the runway to save my life in the sim, landing models for real is my strong point, really good at crosswind. No brag, just fact.

RH

 

[Rapier]

It has been years since I was out with the Eglin Aero Modelers out off Lewis Turner Blvd on Ranger Road. But my son and me used to fly model rockets with them. Several of the guys flew RC choppers and RC multi engine aircraft. Very interesting, same concept as the drones, so would imagine if they are still flying it would be a place to go, watch, learn and participate.

For a commercial application, the one thing I keep hearing about is use in real-estate sales as part of a "walk around", from the outside. They do this ariel vidio sales tool right now on the west coast, not so much around here, so right now there could be an opening for a commercial venture.
Ed

 

[TennJeep1618]

I've spent a little time each day with the simulator and I've already made huge strides. I can fly several of the beginner courses pretty well and the only time I crash is when I'm really pushing the speed. It helps that I did some research on rates and expo, so I've got those adjusted to where the quad is more stable and easier to control than it was originally. Since I think I'm going to be buying a new open gun, I'll probably pass on buying a real quad for now and just keep playing with the sim. Maybe in a few weeks my interest will die down and I'll only be out the $13 cost of the sim.

 

[shootnstarz]

I use expo on my power planes, never messed with the rates. Expo pretty much does the same thing if set up right. I never set up expo on sailplanes, they're so slow and gentle nothing happens fast.

RH

 

[TennJeep1618]

I use expo on my power planes, never messed with the rates. Expo pretty much does the same thing if set up right. I never set up expo on sailplanes, they're so slow and gentle nothing happens fast.

RH

I originally tried to leave the rates at their default setting and only use the expo, but the darn things are really twitchy at 360 degrees/second. I ended up having to turn the pitch and roll down to 270 and the yaw to 180, with the expo set at about 30. That seems to be the perfect balance for me right now. I still sometimes lose control when I overcorrect, but not nearly as often as when the rates are higher.

I see the sim as the same as dry fire when it comes to shooting. I'm working on making the stick handling a subconscious skill. I know it won't translate exactly to flying the real thing, but hopefully it ought to make the transition a little easier (if I ever try the real thing).

 

[Seanpcola]

You can certainly buy one cheap nowadays to learn on. The one I had flew real well, just had range problems. I spent a good bit of time flying around the living room and the rest of the house. They're light enough (the smaller cheap ones) that the don't do any damage if they hit anything. I saw one at Hobby Central for about $50 complete with radio, that is about 2 1/2" in diameter that the store owner said flies real well. I would buy one for inside flying but my dog already likes to bite flies out of the air, that toy wouldn't last a minute. It would give you more stick time.

 

[TennJeep1618]

You can certainly buy one cheap nowadays to learn on. The one I had flew real well, just had range problems. I spent a good bit of time flying around the living room and the rest of the house. They're light enough (the smaller cheap ones) that the don't do any damage if they hit anything. I saw one at Hobby Central for about $50 complete with radio, that is about 2 1/2" in diameter that the store owner said flies real well. I would buy one for inside flying but my dog already likes to bite flies out of the air, that toy wouldn't last a minute. It would give you more stick time.

I looked into these a little: https://www.tinywhoop.com/

But I'd still need to buy FPV goggles and a transmitter. Also, they don't fly in acro/rate mode, so I'm not sure if they would lead to bad habits when transferring to a proper FPV quad. My two big dogs also like to chase flys, but one of these might be big enough to give them pause. Who knows.

 

[pcolapaddler]

YouTube is full of reviews, some good some not so much.

The RC Saylors have some decent reviews. Light hearted, but good info.

A decent entry copter with GPS can be had fairly cheaply. The FPV stuff will add some extra $$$.



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[Seanpcola]

I meant to use the cheap stuff for training your thumbs.

 

[TennJeep1618]

I meant to use the cheap stuff for training your thumbs.

I gotcha. So you're talking about buying a cheap kit that comes with drone and transmitter, just to get used to how it reacts to the stick inputs?

 

[SAWMAN]

What is the "official" name for the helo thingies,with the 4 blades/props.
I'll probably end up with a $65. Walfart special. I just want something that I can land in Sean's back yard to make all his security lights turn on. --- SAWMAN

 

[Seanpcola]

I gotcha. So you're talking about buying a cheap kit that comes with drone and transmitter, just to get used to how it reacts to the stick inputs?

Yeah. I don't mean the Sims aren't good and I haven't messed with one since I gave mine away at least 10 years ago so I'm sure they're a lot better now but........

At least for me it just doesn't totally relate. I could be wrong nowadays.

Sims to me are impossible to fly and get the feel. I've flown Sims with the same models I own and they just don't even react the samw. My biggest problem is orientation. For some reason I could never get my situational awareness right with a sim, I would lose track of where it was in relation to where I was "standing".

On the cheap little ones I was just thinking for a good bit less than a hundred bucks you can get a more "oriented feel" and some real time experience with obstacles and such.

Hell, I may just go buy one now.

Sawman, if you buy one to buzz me get one with a decent camera so you can search the woods behind my house for the one I lost.

 

[TennJeep1618]

Sean: https://gfycat.com/IllinformedShamefulArmyworm

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[SAWMAN]

Hey Sean, about a week ago I saw one on top of the steak cooler in back of a white Chevy S-10. --- SAWMAN

 

[Seanpcola]

Hey Sean, about a week ago I saw one on top of the steak cooler in back of a white Chevy S-10. --- SAWMAN

Bastard probably found mine and kept it.

 

[Seanpcola]

Sean: https://gfycat.com/IllinformedShamefulArmyworm

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There you go. Mine would eat it and I'd find rotor blades and camera pieces in his backyard droppings.

 

[fl57caveman]

What is the "official" name for the helo thingies,with the 4 blades/props.
I'll probably end up with a $65. Walfart special. I just want something that I can land in Sean's back yard to make all his security lights turn on. --- SAWMAN

that could be good....can you film this also? I might start a youtube channel; pranking geezer forum moderators

i'm in if we can drop firecrackers too....