KadetBuilder

Hi,

Just thought i would post some pics of my camera plane while i build it. Its a sig senior kadet. I will be installing a Canon Powershot G2 (4 megapixel). Tilt control will be via a servo and some gears and chain from servocity. Camera downlink will be provided by a 2.4ghz transmitter from blackwidowav.com.

Anyone got any ideas / comments?

KadetBuilder

Another angle...

the camera is very wide, so i am widening the fuselage to fit it in.

Also, I will be adding some vertical plywood extending under the fuselage to allow the camera to be half in / half out of the bottom of the fuse to give forward looking pics as well as vertical shots..

BruceDana

Why rotate the camera, when a movable mirror in front of the lens will do? Is focus for infinity? Could the camera be encased completely inside the fuse, and a mirror tilt to view oblique or vertical?? I'm thinking of building something for my sailplane, but need to keep it simple and light. A movable mirror (or prism) is all I could come up with.

aston70

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Looks pretty slick, KadetBuilder.

I thought about a mirror setup too once like BruceDana suggested. One thing to take into consideration is your pics will be reversed. I used to fly rockets and had one of those astro cams with 110 film. It had a mirror on it. You had to tell the developer to reverse the negatives. It wouldn't be that big a deal with a digital camera because there's probably software that will just reverse it for you. If you ever decide to use a mirror on your video camera for first person view flying, that could get interesting. One thing you could do is use two mirrors kind of like in periscope.

Here's my current project. It's a scratch built J3-Cub. I am shooting for a setup similar to cyber-flyer . He has an awsome website if you haven't seen it yet.

If anyone has interest in a fairly large Cub, I posted the plans in AutoCad format.
J3 Cub

KadetBuilder

Yeah, I never thought of using a mirror...good idea though.

I think I'll still go with pivoting the camera though...

EDIT: Just one thing about a mirror setup....the mirror would have to be mounted very solidly to the camera, or else it would create a vibration problem.....if the camera was vibrating at a different frequency to the mirror......
...So...I would think a mirror is kinda doubling up your potential vibration problems...

KadetBuilder

Ok I've had a change of plan!!

After experimenting with the chain and gears from servocity to tilt the camera, I've decided to abandon that idea and to just have a manually controlled tilt mechanism ( ie I'll have to land every time i want to change the tilt angle )

Apart from that, things are progressing ok.....painfully slow though! There comes a point in every project where you just want to set the thing on fire!!!....I am rapidly approaching that point!!

OK, I'll just have to practice my breathing exercises again......

aston70

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I know that point.

DarkWolf

Love the setup, but why ditch the chain system? Lets hear your feedback on it... so.. umm.. I don't make the same mistakes..

KadetBuilder

I have a couple of reasons why not to use the servo-controlled tilt...

1. Since I will not have another person available to operate the camera while i fly, it would be too many things to do at once....

2. I reckon the chain and gears would introduce some 'play' in the system, leading to vibration.

3. Its just easier to set up!

If you're wondering how the camera is mounted on an axle, I built a balsa box to hold the camera, with ply sides. Then, I made up an axle assembly with a steel shaft and brass bushing, which bolts onto the plywood sides of the camera box.

I am planning to mount the camera in the box using foam for cushioning vibrations and two velcro straps to hold it in place.
The velcro will make it easier to remove the camera to change the battery and take out the compact flash card etc..

KadetBuilder

nice cub drawings...might build it some day if I have a spare six months

aston70

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I've been at it a couple months so far. I have most of the structure complete. I'm at that "Point" where I have to start figuring out how things are going to work. I am putting a wireless video system in so I can do some FPV flying. It's a challenge. I have one camera inside sitting on top of a servo to turn left and right. Another one, I still need to mount on the wing somewhere to tilt forward and down. I also have to build some better antennas for better range. That's almost more work than building the plane.
The inside servo will need to be 180 degrees. So there's that problem too. I think I may have it figured out though.

W4UAV

Dan,
Seeing that you are also a ham, are you good at
soldering? Heres a link to convert a Futaba S148 servo to
do full proportional 180 degrees, I have done it and it works
great! You can get the resistors at radio shack and follow
the instructions and youll have a full propo 180 degree servo
for under 20 bucks!
Heres the link:
http://mypage.yhti.net/~dmcdnld/s148retract.htm

Good luck!

aston70

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KE4UVQ,
Yeah I think you were the one that sent me this link a month or two ago. It's exactly what I was planning to do, except I think I'll swipe the resistors from my dad's workshop.

I am looking for some 15AWG copper antenna wire if you know of a good source for some? I've got to make some double loop antennas.

Thanks again.

W4UAV

Maybe try THE WIREMAN, Ive seen their booth at hamfests
or try this link to their website:
http://www.thewireman.com/wire.html#sc

Good luck!

A10FLYR

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OK. It's a Frontier Seniour ARF but close enough.

A10FLYR

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Nudder view.

A10FLYR

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Original setup.

Fubar-One

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How does it fly? I tried something similar for wireless video on a Right Flyer 40T and the plane didnt like it at all. Granted, the plane itself was no great shakes as a flyer to begin with, but once I got in the air (barely) the pod caused the plane to tilt backwards something fierce.

KadetBuilder

I don't know how it flies yet...I'm still covering it at the moment...hopefullllyyy will be finished towards the end of next week....I'll let ya know..

A10FLYR

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Fubar,
It didn't do well at all! Same problem you mentioned. And again it wasn't good to begin with. I was wondering if it was because of the added weight. Higher angle of attack gives more lift which results in more drag and keeps compounding itself till the engine can't keep up. The first Frontier had a .60, this one has a .40. Maybe I had better go to a bigger engine also.

BUT...I added lots of down thrust and added a 2 oz. propnut. Flys very well now without the camera. Next week I'll try it with the camera box and camera. Let you all know how it works.

Fubar-One

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Mine was powered by an OS .46LA. I used this same engine on an Global Airmaster 40T and it flew very well, would do tricks that a trainer wasnt supposed to do including fly inverted without much efffort. This same engine was not quite up to the Right Flyer. I would notice in turns that the tail of this plane would turn like the back end of a trailer unless I added rudder input whereas the Airmaster flew like it was on rails. Looking since at .40 sized trainers, the Right Flyer was the heaviest, had the shortest wingspan and the heaviest wingloading of ALL the other trainers I checked out. A real pig, in other words.
For your plane, more engine might be good. I would also modify the camera box to make it more streamlined. They definitely do NOT like the big flat square sail.
I made a different box that held only the camera (no pic available) but it had probably half the amount of face area and had about a 45 degree angle to the face. I put all the cabling and the battery pack in the plane itself and was able to take a lot of the added lead off the plane. It was still a pig but I got it airborne. About 5 minutes of nervewracking flight time later I managed to get it back on the ground. Took it home, stripped out the usable parts and hurled the rest into the dumpster. Thought briefly of buying an OS .46FX for it but decided to go for a plane with more wing area and less wingloading such as the Kadet Senior ARF. Due to shipping damage, I am getting a second freebie wing for it so I can butcher the first wing all I want to add a hard point for a camera mount. Maybe with pan and tilt, using the hardware I bought at Servo City.

KadetBuilder

I just found "the" ideal camera plane....
http://www.sussex-model-centre.co.uk...asp?ProdID=103

A10FLYR

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It SUCKED!!! Gonna go back and try something else.

KadetBuilder

I can't believe this is taking me so long.....just finished covering the plane with solarspan on the wing and tail surfaces, monokote on the fuse because i find it easier to work around curves (like the cowl)

Fubar-One

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Been working on my Kadet Sr ARF. Taking forever due to shipping damage, replacement shipping damage, then my LHS burning down to the ground. I have since repaired the UPS (OOPS) damaged ribs and mounted a servo in the first rib bay to operate the camera mount I plan to use. I had the pan and tilt system set up but decided it was too spindly as designed and if it didnt shake itself apart, would make for very blurry video anyway. Might try it at a later date. I also plan to add a servo to the side of the fuse so I can rotate the camera forward and downwards. The wing mount allows me to rotate the camera fore and aft. I just added some liteply reinforced 1/4" balsa sheeting between the ribs in the first bay and stuck the servo into that like for an aileron. Need to find some transparent blue Oracote so I can finish it up.