5000+ feet video flight
 

Took off like normal, switched to RPV mode about 500 feet up, flew all the way to 1634 meters by video
only, with the help of my nephew, hes 13, he could see the plane that high! After I brought it down by video,
I got to about 300 feet and told him to point at the plane, he did, so when I transitioned from watching the
video monitor to the plane, I just followed where he was pointing, worked great! Total flight time: 12 minutes!

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

Nice! Wheres the sound. Upload the landing! Please

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

That's quite an accomplishment! Congrats! I have one flight so far on my HMD using a backpack rx unit of my own design. With a budddy boxed student, they can get quite a rise under the hood with the Cy-Visor unit. I fly electric to lessen the vibration- altho gliding flight is the best for clear video.

I'm considering using the Sukoi SU-35 PSS plane with rocket power to fire a cam equipped glider up there- no vibration at all- and a faster boost to altitude.
Ya gotta love it...
Lew

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

Be advised, you may have been operating in controlled airspace. You might want to check your local FAA office and see what their restrictions are. If we don't police ourselves, we could have some police assigned to us. The rocketry people have done well to keep the authorities apprised of their activities, and in this day and time, we would do well to do the same.

BTW.... congratulations on your "mile high" RPV flight.....

CTF

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

Outstanding Mike!
I can’t think of anything else to say!
Wow!
That had to be a thrilling 12 minute flight, I bet it felt like 2 hours!:D

You should post that video over at RC Groups AP section also, they like seeing how high they can fly. I think you beat all of them by 3 thousand feet!

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

ooooo! please do! I wanna see.[X(]

And congrats on the nose bleed flight!

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

Nice Flight... Now you need to transmit that flight data to the ground so when your A/V battery dies, you can still come home on GPS. But, at only 12 minutes, you probably don't have any probs with battery? What are you using for battery?

Your videos look pretty good, but I bet you have a heart attack every time you get a video glitch that high:D I was up to 3000' this weekend, and at 500mw, a stock rx antenna, and almost overhead, I was close to my limit for signal and had plenty of drop outs. I get butterfly's just thinking about all that stress!

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

Do you use a PCM receiver with failsafe to, for exampe, spin down if the receiver looses contact?

If the plane is nice and stable it could glide 10 or 20 miles from 5000 feet. (20:1 glide ratio guess).

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

what package did you use ie the whole camera set up??

Rob

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

The only glitches I got was in the null pattern of the stock dipole-in-a-duck antenna when it was
overhead, my nephew would at almost every glitch report the plane directly overhead (oh, to have
a 13 year old's eyesight) so I just banked the plane a little.
The key is communication with your spotter. Now if I decide to go any higher at another location, other measures will be
taken, a PDC10 and FMA Copilot, of which I have one of each standing by.

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

[X(] We are not allowed to fly higher than about 300 feet... let alone 5000, lol (can't do a decent loop if I have to stick to the rules)

Recently there was a discussion in the "extreme speed prop planes" forum about routing your antenna properly... I guess this flight proves that a properly functioning system will provide you with plenty of range...

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

link don't work for me

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

I couldn't get there either, give it awhile they might be down for maintenance.

When you do get to it, right click on the pictures, then 'save target as'

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

CenTexFlyer is correct, flying a model at 5000 feet isn't legal in the USA. Any altitude above 400 feet without a specific approval from FAA Air Traffic Control would be at least careless operation of an aircraft and might be considered reckless. If an accident between a model and a full size happens, the hobby will get a black eye and some serious FAA mandated restrictions. If you don't believe me, read Federal Aviation Regulation 1.1 definition of an "aircraft", it does not exclude "model aircraft", and read FAR 91.13 Careless or Reckless operation of an aircraft. The FAA Advisory Circular AC 91-57 sets the 400 foot maximum altitude, and while it is "advisory", it does set the standard in an enforcement case.

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

Sigh, theres always one in every crowd.

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

Look... these guys went to 85000 feet: http://members.shaw.ca/sonde/index.htm

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

Mike, do you think we should just not worry about it?

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

Yep, some days it’s best just to stay in bed.
Wait a minute, I bet that’s illegal in someone’s mind also.

I like the FAA rules regarding Balloons, I think I’ll go jump on some kid coming out of the zoo carrying one. Hey kid did you know you cant carry that thing within 5 miles of a airport.

With a spotter and no aircraft in the area what was “dangerous” about the flight?
Nothing…..
I know people in the FAA, I’ve stood in the middle of active runways flying RC with them. Most times the airport manager and most of the full scale pilots were flying with us.
I belonged to an AMA show team and I’ve flown around and on more runways than most people have seen. Guess what, everything in the world is NOT illegal, notify the local airport manager and go have fun but do it safely.

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

Maybe, maybe not.
10 or 15 years ago, a couple of morons INTENTIONALLY piloted their Right-Flyer 40T into the Goodyear Blimp.
They penetrated the envelope and it was forced to land.

It was in the news for maybe 2 days.

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

I remember that. No famous media star was involved so it faded from the news very quickly.
I am surprised the liberal media out here didnt start a big scare about "Assualt Planes" or something. Channel 4 would have had a field day. Shown pattern planes diving into watermellons.
:eek:

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

Sounds like the beginning of a new competition class... i.e. Mellon Divers-grin.

Just for discussion, isn't the rule N.T.E. 400 feet within a 3 mile radius of an airport? I don't recall anything mentioned for outside the 3 mile radius. We fly thousands of feet high above the Sod Farm on thermals. It is normal to fly a couple thousand feet. I had one plane, 72" wing span, nearly out of sight in a monster thermal... Struggling to lose some altitude, I listened to the other "cooks" and bam... folded the wing. That plane, jart, landed 25' away from us as it ended it's 45 second straight down path. It was really scary because I had no control of the plane as it headed straight at us. The sight and sound of that incoming plane was frightening and the impact??? I definitely learned to respect thermals after that one! My point, we constantly fly above 300, 400, and even 500 feet. If there is a ceiling... I would like to know more about this rule. As long as the plane remains in visual range and we can see which direction it's pointing... this would be the limit to altitude and distance. Am I right?

Rob

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

You would be 100% correct. The only rule covering altitude is #2:
Like KE4UVQ said, there's one in every crowd, like in another thread where Balsa Master swears that launching a rocket glider qualifies as a guided missile and will land you in Guantanamo.

Note that in rule #2, flying above 400ft IS permitted near an active airport, so long as the airport operator has been informed of the activities.

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

Full scale pilots are responsibel to avoid birds, I think they are respoonsible for evrything else too[8D] Im from canada eh, so the rules may be different.

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

One thing that I think everyone missed is that Rudeboy is in Belgium so any AMA rules wouldnt apply to him anyway. Also, an AMA rule was quoted here, not an FAA law. I do know that to launch a rocket above 30,000 feet you need an FAA waiver and they need to open up a window where no air traffic will cross. Saw that on either TLC or Discovery a couple of months back.
It is quite possible that in Belgium, where Rudeboy is, it IS illegal to fly above 300'.
If so, it must suck for RC glider pilots!

RE: 5000+ feet video flight
 

I can guarantee you that AMA regulations would be as strict, or more restrictive than FAA laws. It's pretty obvious from the wording of the AMA rule that it is within FAA guidelines... and that is one of the few AMA rules that just MIGHT land you in deep trouble if violated.
I'm not familiar with the rocketry rules, but if an FAA waiver is required, you can bet your butt that the 30k ceiling is noted. Of course, 30,000 is far above the indicated 5,000, and well above the flight envelope of a normally aspirated model engine... heck, the air force had problems getting WWII fighters above 15k without superchargers. Isn't the ceiling of a 172 around 9k?