jack crossfire

There doesn't seem to be a comprehensive FPV HOWTO which lays out the best equipment and the technique for FPV. It seems to be word of mouth and a lot of bits of information. So far the bits of information converge on the following:

Flight by video with the most expensive equipment is difficult at best.
You can't really fly by video 100% of the time.
The most expensive systems can be flown purely by video, but landings and takeoffs are still by eye.
Cheaper systems allow momentary flight by video with frequent looks at the model to know where it is.
Expect to lose your model occasionally if you fly by video alone and go beyond visual range.
One guy is flying a helicopter by video alone but spent a hell of a lot of money to do it.
Fixed exposure and high resolution isn't required to fly by video. Some fly with only a horizon line to go on and very little detail above or below it.
The difference between wide angle lenses and normal lenses seems hardly noticable. They all lose the horizon.

Personal experience:
The 1mW 2.4Ghz video transmitter interferes with the 75Mhz receiver.
The 75Mhz transmitter interferes with the 2.4Ghz video receiver.
The 2.4Ghz signal can be jammed by security cameras.
You can't tell how high you are from video alone.
With a normal lens, the slightest cyclic input makes the horizon disappear.

Feel free to share any exceptions to these bits.

kd7ost

Maybe we should start a fact sheet on how to post a thread.

Dan

twinturbostang

lol Aww, he's new. Give 'em a break.

Jack, when I get some free time, I will try to reply to some of your incorrect assumptions.

kd7ost

Yep, I didn't need to say that. It wasn't very nice.

Dan

typicalaimster

Wait [:-]

Did you say 75mhz and mean 72mhz? If you're on 75mhz in the states I think we have a whole different problem.

JettPilot

My Feedback: (6)

That is the only one I agree with, and that is because I fly planes, not helicopters

I fly by video, from taxi out to taxi in, way beyond visual range, and never lost a plane. Its not that expensive, its way less than a full scale plane What is does take is skill, so if you see many failures and limitations, its because the person doing FPV does not have the skill to pull it off. Most people cant even drive worth a schit, even less people can fly with any skill at all [:'(] A picture is worth a thousand words, so a video should be worth a million. Check out my videos with the link below, and then throw that list in the trash.

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=JetPilott

jack crossfire

> What is does take is skill,

So if it takes skill to fly a plane by video, it's probably not possible to fly a helicopter by video at all. The one guy who did it, cyber-flyer.com, actually used an autopilot and a ton of navigation telemetry.

twinturbostang

FPV flying is done every day by General Aircraft, commercial jet liners, etc. The only difference here is that we are flying with our feet on the ground. You don't get the same sense of G forces, and your peripheral vision is limited. But that does not make it impossible to do. Many people are flying RC craft via FPV video without any trouble. Yes it definitely does take practice. But so does flying RC craft in general. With time and practice, you can become very proficient at it.

Why? I have flown entire flights via FPV video, including take-off and landing.

See above.

Possibly true, if your video downlink is of very low quality, then you will have frequent video drop-outs. But if that's the case, then you shouldn't even fly FPV with it. Get a good system and you will be happy.

ANY TIME you fly your model aircraft (whether FPV or not) you should always be prepared for the possibility of loosing it. However, with enough experience, and good quality components, you can minimize this risk.

Probably so. Heli's are much more expensive than parkflyer type planes. That's just the nature of them.

Not sure I understand this. TV quality video is definitely preferred. If all you can see is a "horizon line", you will loose where you are relative to the field. You must have adequate resolution to see landmarks in order to navigate around the field.

No and possibly. You CAN loose the horizon if you pitch the plane up/down at severe angles. However, the difference in lenses IS noticeable after much FPV flying.

twinturbostang

You just contradicted yourself. First you say it's not possible to fly a heli via video. Then you say a guy did it. With a co-pilot and telemetry yes, but he still did it. And there have been several other people to successfully fly heli's via FPV video. I do not know what kind of equipment they used. But I don't see it as too much harder than flying a plane via FPV, assuming you know how to fly a heli in the first place. Just because not many people have done it, does not mean it's not very feasible. Heli's are much more difficult to fly than planes to begin with. Added to that, they are very expensive in comparison. And have several other obstacles to overcome, like vibrational issues with onboard cameras. And you can quickly see why there are not as many people doing FPV heli's.

CRAZYRYAN

My Feedback: (1)

he must be pissed b/c he can't afford the equipment!!

JMSTECH

Hey twinturbostang!

Trying out heli fpv sounds kind of cool though, I have to admit Cyber-flyer and Mr. RC-CAM kind of got it down pretty good. I would like to eventually try it out myself.

I heard some lost hikers got rescued by fpv helicopter.... you got to love it when we reached that time when things like that kind of technology is within our reach now! Anyhow I realize you are a black belt in FPV now since you have the videos to prove it so I'll keep an eye on your post. I could use the knowledge passed on by people who are experienced!

JMS

twinturbostang

LOL Thanks JMS. There's a lot more activity regarding FPV flying over on rcgroups and rc-cam. I think I've seen you over there. If not, definitely check it out.

JMSTECH

Hey Twinturbostang, yeah I was just checking out the scenery here and yeah, you have seen me around in the rcgroup and my homebase @ rc-cam.
See you around buddy!

zaviation

My Feedback: (1)

I wouldn't say that either. My initial inspiration for FPV was by a fellow with the on-line name of HOBBYBOY over in the RC-CAM forum. I don't know the exact date he posted it but I downloaded his video on 5 August 2002. This flight is with a Raptor 30 and was flown entirely FPV with a forward mounted camera and no stabilization other than the tail gyro used on most model helicopters. Near the end of the video you can see a yellow pop up tent by the take-off point. That is Bob (Hobbyboy) inside the tent flying by looking at a television set. An extraordinary accomplishment.

[link]http://www.zaneraviation.com/images/FPV Raptor 30.wmv[/link] Please right click and save as. The file is 15mb.

Here is a quote from Hobbyboy at that time about his flying:

Regards, John

sixers33

Near the end of the video you can see a yellow pop up tent by the take-off point. That is Bob (Hobbyboy) inside the tent flying by looking at a television set. An extraordinary accomplishment.


That is good!

Kaltag

My Feedback: (2)

FPV takes practice. I learned on my own,, learned alot of things not to do quickly. Learn to fly your plane first before trying fpv. Get an idea for your thottle positions. Its important to know before you try fpv what your min. throttle position is. This will keep you from stalling. Another great thing is have a spotter near you, until your system
has proven itself. Lots of little bugs and glitches to work out sometimes on these systems. We have to remember that everyone doing this pieces parts and equipment together to accomplish fpv. No company makes a rtf or arf fpv system with airplane. Flying at night is great, but if you loose video link for some crazy reason, its 10X more fatal to your plane than during the day. Its not terribly expensive either. Get good equipment... I am using a 200 mw vid tx and 480 lines ccd camera - 2.4 system on my futaba 9c pcm 6ch with an easy star. I think the plane was only 80 bucks, and they even make them rtf. I disagree that fpv is difficult to fly, and in some cases its much easier. Its a totally different prespective. When your standing on the ground in one place, you are limited and feel limited. When flying fpv its just an awsome experience.

headhunter23

I gotta say landings via fpv is much more comfortable than by third person. In fact flying third person is very different than what you expect and more than likely trained on after all these years of video games and flight simulators. I haven't taken off via fpv yet, just seems to be easier to launch then put on googles. I've seen a few videos where the guy started out fpv threw it in the air and didn't realize he stalled the plane till it was too late. Oh yea, your first and second time fpv'ng is more than likely the most difficult and weird, once you get over it then it's cake.

Anyways on to technical... I'm running 900mhz .5 watts with a 2.4ghz radio system. Works fine, wished I had a futaba 9c though on 72mhz, apparently you can get longer range. But I am totally loving the glitch free functionality of the spektrum dx7. Get a diversity controller (which requires two receivers) this will help with drop outs etc. Also look up "goof proof antenna" and make two of those for your two receivers and you should be good to go almost glitch free. Atleast based on the video's I've seen.

Googles are really nice and I would suggest them. Oh and split the receiver and video tx as much as possible to reduce conflicts(one on each wing if possible).... ummmm... carbon fibre and all metals will apparently interfere with both signals. So keep them away from the sensitive stuff. Get good systems(I buy from rangevideo.com) unless you are technically proficient and can add an amp to chineese cheap system but even then for the price difference and pita I would pay a couple bucks more and get a better system.

Ivan.