Drones.

[Evil_Onyx]

These are more my kind of drones.

 

[ljetibo]

Wow! I didn't even know autonomous sail drones were a thing! That's just insane - I love it!

 

[Fabri91]

Had the possibility of flying my 210mm quad in a more open environment, but still only LOS:

 

[Donamy]

Had the possibility of flying my 210mm quad in a more open environment, but still only LOS:
2018-08-16 cc2 - YouTube

I'm going to go throw up now.

 

[Fabri91]

I'm going to go throw up now.

:lol:

Maybe a VR recording of the flips would be better?

 

[Evil_Onyx]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH0V7kp-xg0"]What Happens When a Drone Hits an Airplane Wing? – AINtv - YouTube[/ame]

Testing with a drone and air cannon and an actual aircraft wing.

 

[Marijn]

What are your thoughts on this? Bird or drone?

 

[Fabri91]

This might be the lowest possible cost FPV setup there is:

• 28€ 5.8GHz receiver using USB OTG
• 9€ Google Cardboard
• Existing Android phone

seems surprisingly well, and has DVR functionality.

 

[Fabri91]

Another project:

Essentially I'm following along the guide listed here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4769576

 

[steph]

Another project:

Essentially I'm following along the guide listed here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4769576

Like the HGLRC nano thing. I think it bees the same way my Hubsan did back in the day ?

 

[Fabri91]

Like the HGLRC nano thing. I think it bees the same way my Hubsan did back in the day ?

I think so! The original designer goes by the name Dave_C both on Youtube and Thingiverse, and he's worked together with a manufacturer to sell a commercial version of this project - I will only be able to check later but it might be HGLRC.

EDIT: not, it's Rekon: https://www.getfpv.com/rekon-fpv-rekon-3-nano-lr-fpv-quad.html

 

[steph]

Of course, it's hard to say exactly. I think we're witnessing a new 'brand' of 18650 fpv quads, and that is epic stuff. There's RTF stuff like like the FlyFox Nano 3 and the HGLRC Rekon 3 , which are all probably copying Dave_C's stuff. But in the end, battery is the same, motors have roughly same kV, and even the 3D printed version is using FCs from the same chinese companies, so it's a blurry line.
Now, I have like 4 or 5 unused cells from a high-powered headlamp, so I'm definitely interested, as the one thing that put me off FPV were the abysmal flight times. Having something as small as this than can fly for over 10 min is amazing. But I'll probably get the RTF version, as FPV flying in France is already quite difficult without ending up accused of flying 'experimental'.

 

[Fabri91]

Argh, the courier has officially declared lost my package with the last missing components, i.e. VTX and radio RX. It's a bit silly how things sent from Hong Kong can be here in less than two weeks and items sent from the Czech Republic get lost in that small town in the middle of nowhere that, evidently, is Nürnberg.

 

[Arvil]

Now, if only they could filter out the bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, so you can hear ambient noise.

 

[steph]

Now they can . https://dronedj.com/2021/05/11/nzs-dotterel-enables-clear-two-way-audio-for-drones/ But some people actually prefer the engine noise in freestyle quads. Then again, most camera drones don't have mics.
There was the ill-fated GoPro Karma though, that one recorded everything, including the crash ?

 

[steph]

I'm starting to get a new level of appreciation for pure wi-fi drones, or at least those that can also be controlled by wi-fi and not just remote . Also, turns out what I needed to handle the wind on the coast was the Bebop2 from Parrot. I had previously tried the Disco, and it does fly rather well but its flight controller always wants it to have a significant ground speed, so if you're sending it into 40 kph, it will beat itself up trying to go much faster than that, thus straining the battery . Bebop2 hovers just fine in those headwinds, and with an aftermarket battery, getting around 20 min or more flight time.
Now, ever since the USB connector failed on the SC2, I've been fooling around with a FlyPad. Normally low range since it still relies on phone's WiFI , BUT you can connect it to a repeater and get decent range. Now I'm thinking of trying this on a Hubsan Zino which had disconnect issues that I suspect were due to the remote acting up. Obviousy, there's always a 1-2 sec lag, and the video isn't crystal clear, but at least it holds

 

[Fabri91]

It's time for some good old-fashioned thread-resurrection!

Newer digital FPV systems are such an insane leap, at least compared to my previous used Eaching 200D analog goggles - after converting my 5-inch to a Walksnail system, which I found at a tolerable price used, I have been flying as often as never before, it feels like.

 

[Fabri91]

An experiment with an unusual camera mounting position:

 

[PhantomCruiser]

One of my old drones.
Not my video... but here is an example of the Pioneer RPV that I flew for the USN in the late 80's and into the 90's. Surprisingly we still have a few in the inventory and still doing missions.

 

[Urwumpe]

One of my old drones.
Not my video... but here is an example of the Pioneer RPV that I flew for the USN in the late 80's and into the 90's. Surprisingly we still have a few in the inventory and still doing missions.

I doubt that the airframe itself or even its engine has ever become obsolete, but the electronics of that time looks of course pretty antique today.