Hi,
After flying exclusively wings for the last year and a half, I now want to do a bit of FPV thermal soaring.
Candidates so far are:
Multiplex Cularis
http://www.sussex-model-centre.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=39785 (http://www.sussex-model-centre.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=39785)
Multiplex Easy Glider Pro
http://www.sussex-model-centre.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=24885 (http://www.sussex-model-centre.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=24885)
ST models DG1000
http://www.sussex-model-centre.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=28316 (http://www.sussex-model-centre.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=28316)
So what do you think?
regards
Andy
Cularis - definitely.
I have one for sale!! ;D ;D ;D
that site is really feckin expensive ..78 quid for the power combo for the easy glider??
Quote from: skyscraper on May 02, 2013, 10:05:27 AM
After flying exclusively wings for the last year and a half, I now want to do a bit of FPV thermal soaring.
It's not clear whether you want to do purely thermal soaring (with FPV) or have electric power as well as the ability to thermally soar. If purely thermal soaring none of the models you suggest really fit into that category with the possible exception of the Cularis without the power set.
I'm not knocking Multiplex because I have had a few and found them to be very well engineered, but their power sets are stupidly expensive. You'll get the same at a fraction fo the price by shipping around for the components separately.
Perhaps you could clarify whether or not you want electric power in the model.
I'd go for the new multiplex solius personally or if you wanted bigger the cularis, I love multiplex models though so might be a bit biased
electrotor - Yes electric power definitely No towlines for me anymore. Life is too short!
Steve W As for power set - I plan to go for the basic kit and then go to giantshark or similar for the rest!
I just put the first links I could find up.!
Looked up the Multiplex Solius. That looks really nice. I think I will go with that. :D
Thanks for the replies!
Giantshark or some others like Robotbirds for the power set. That's what I did with my Twinstars and Merlin and saved a fortune. I really don't know why Multiplex price these things so high; it seems like shooting yourself in the foot.
The Solius looks interesting. Here's a link to the manual.
http://www.multiplex-rc.de/service/downloads/anleitungen.html (http://www.multiplex-rc.de/service/downloads/anleitungen.html)
Thanks for the link electrotor! Boy there is quite a bit of building!
Anyway ...
Solius ordered! (£99 inc PnP from Sussex Model Centre) :)
Now to decide what other goodies I need to get!
regards
Andy
Quote from: skyscraper on May 02, 2013, 01:17:17 PM
Thanks for the link electrotor! Boy there is quite a bit of building!
Eh? It's only a moulded foamie. You should try some proper building where you start with a bundle of balsa, a set of plans and some scalpel blades. Young folks these days have got it easy. When I wert lad we used to have to pay fort' priviledge of building.
;D
Ah the smell of dope and sanding sealer
Mmmmmmmm
Be good if you could do a thread when she comes mate
Really like the look of her
Quote from: bignose13 on May 02, 2013, 03:18:12 PM
Ah the smell of dope and sanding sealer
Mmmmmmmm
Yep solvent abuse masquerading as model building. ;D
Then of course there was the wonderful aroma of Keil Kraft diesel fuel and Nitrex 15. Bliss and happy memories. ;D
Good news Andy, look forward to seeing it in the flesh some point in the future! I suppose I'm to blame after seeing my easy glider!
Quote from: electrotor on May 02, 2013, 02:04:10 PM
Quote from: skyscraper on May 02, 2013, 01:17:17 PM
Thanks for the link electrotor! Boy there is quite a bit of building!
Eh? It's only a moulded foamie. You should try some proper building where you start with a bundle of balsa, a set of plans and some scalpel blades. Young folks these days have got it easy. When I wert lad we used to have to pay fort' priviledge of building.
;D
:)
I started designing my own I really did .. .. then thought... F**k it. I cant be arsed!
Anyway I have loads of electonic bits I'd rather be doing.
Slippery slope eh? :)
regrads
Andy
Quote from: Brucey on May 02, 2013, 05:42:30 PM
Good news Andy, look forward to seeing it in the flesh some point in the future! I suppose I'm to blame after seeing my easy glider!
Yep That was the inspiration! I want to stay up for a few hours at a time now ... especially since I have better range.
I've just been out walking the dog... nice excuse to go to Nomansland my local club. There they all were... all bunked off work and floating electric gliders around in the sunshine.. lazy buggers! :)
regards
Andy
Andy
What radio will you be using for control??
Also are you putting any rth and stabilisation in it??
Quote from: bignose13 on May 02, 2013, 06:55:54 PM
Andy
What radio will you be using for control??
Also are you putting any rth and stabilisation in it??
For RC, I will be using my FrSky telemetry system, since I use the telemetry from that to guide my tracker. Eventually I will mount the FrSky Tx module on the tracker and use the £5 patch antenna for FrsKy Tx from GiantShark http://www.giantshark.co.uk/frsky-patch-antenna-p-406510.html (http://www.giantshark.co.uk/frsky-patch-antenna-p-406510.html). The handset will just send the stick movements to the tx on the tracker maybe via a low power UHF radio link. or just a serial cable. That should give me 2 Km range I reckon.
I definitely do want stabilisation and RTH, since I have that on my wing. I found that RTH is hepful more than anything at the start of the flight. I take off without the goggles, then flip to RTH and fumble about for the goggles. Its a last resort if I get lost too.
As to which one.. thats a conundrum.
Overall I like the Open Source autopilots rather than the buy and fly ones ( I like the idea of being able to tinker with the code), but the only one that is mature really is the Ardupilot so that will probbaly be my choice, since the stabilisation and the RTH are the features I want and I know they work reasonably well., since I have already got an Ardupilot Mega V1 board in my wing and I have found it works ok. I like to do a bit of code hacking and its good for that. I may go for the Ardupilot Mega 2.5. Another option is the PX4.http://www.buildyourowndrone.co.uk/PX4-AutoPilot-s/88.htm (http://www.buildyourowndrone.co.uk/PX4-AutoPilot-s/88.htm) I like the idea of it, but 1) its expensive 2) its not very mature and 3) I would have to learn everything again, find bugs etc.
I really like the PX4 though.... hmm a lot of decisions to make yet!
I also want an OSD. I am very happy with the MinimOSD and I think it'll work with either Ardupilot or PX4 since they both use mavlink protocol
regards
Andy
Quote from: skyscraper on May 02, 2013, 01:17:17 PM
Thanks for the link electrotor! Boy there is quite a bit of building!
Anyway ...
Solius ordered! (£99 inc PnP from Sussex Model Centre) :)
Now to decide what other goodies I need to get!
regards
Andy
Solius arrived Great!
Opened box..
Both wings warped to F**k
One wing had no aluminium spar in ..
B**ks!
Guess you cant blame Sussex Model Centre for whats in the box. Very prompt delivery! Anyway back it goes ... ZZZh!
regards
Andy
In all the years I've been modelling I've never had a duff kit from multiplex, unlucky mate but I suppose it had to happen sometime
Sussex will sort you out, pretty good cs I always find there,
Apart from the faults what do you reckon to the glider anyway??
Bummer. Sounds like you got the Friday afternoon floor sweepings before they all went off to the beer cellar. I too have never had a bad kit from Herr Multiplex.
Zis iz not vot ve expect from a respected German manufacturer. Zee employee who iz responsible vill be severely disciplined. >:(
Yeah I thought Multiplex was a pretty good bet.
Heres a pic of the wing roots. The spars are somehow inserted during manufacturer, except on one wing there is nothing, not even a slot for it:
(http://s12.postimg.org/venh6n9d5/no_spar.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/venh6n9d5/)
Heres a picture of the warp. There is a kink at the trailing edge:
(http://s18.postimg.org/a62yg4rph/warped_wing1.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/a62yg4rph/)
Maybe I'm being fussy? Maybe this is normal for a foamie? Thats what I'm worried about
The lack of a spar I am less concerned about, since its an obvious error than the warped wings. I wouldnt mind so much on a low aspect ratio wing but the warps in the wings will kill the performance on this. I want it for thermal soaring but also to fly fast.
If this is the best I can hope for from a kit I would rather build my own or get a plane with built up wings.
regards
Andy
"unlucky" I've had 2 EGpros for FPV they are so docile and float well if the weight is kept to a minimum. I've still got one as a standby FPV model; have a look in my media album for some of the mods. The longest flight I had was 25 min. I've got the a clip on tube of the maiden and my second ever FPV light. It's a bit grainy, HD cameras still weighed a brick.
http://youtu.be/5OijG-TdKIY (http://youtu.be/5OijG-TdKIY)
I was gonna sugest the FlyFly Condor Magic 2.9m. I fly one. She has a composite fuselage and built balsa wings. set up right they fly superbly with great thermalling capability and a big canopy area for your gear. But then I see you've bought some foam thing. Now don't get me wrong... I have a few foam planes and I love em, but I wouldn't go for a foam glider..... sorry I was late with my thrupence worth.... hope it all goes well.
GJ ;)
Granpaw that looks a nice glider (Condor Magic), are you flying this FPV ?
If you had to choose between the Condor and the Cularis for a big FPV powered glider which would you go for ?
Thanks
PK
Quote from: Granpaw Jonah on May 04, 2013, 12:07:16 PM
I was gonna sugest the FlyFly Condor Magic 2.9m. I fly one. She has a composite fuselage and built balsa wings. set up right they fly superbly with great thermalling capability and a big canopy area for your gear. But then I see you've bought some foam thing. Now don't get me wrong... I have a few foam planes and I love em, but I wouldn't go for a foam glider..... sorry I was late with my thrupence worth.... hope it all goes well.
GJ ;)
You are probably right. Building a plane out of packaging material? Never seemed quite right! Maybe I should just cancel my order...
I think what this is really telling me is not to be lazy and design and build my own specifically designed for FPV thermal soarer
EDIT: cancelled replacement , just going for a refund. Going to go back to rolling my own!
The FlyFly Condor looks great, but a bit out of my price range.. and I'd have to start buying bigger motors and batteries!
regards
Andy
Hi, I haven't flown it FPV yet, I'm still 'In training' on my FPV Raptor, but I have filmed from it and it's an incredibly stable platform. I've had this glider about 6 years and I bought it as a well used second hand aircraft so it's flown for hours, had at least 3 serious crashes and the wings, fuselage and tail have stood up to it all. So yeah, it is an expensive item & you need a 6-700 watt motor, 60A esc & 4 decent servos but it's a craft that'll last you for years. 'Course that's not to say that foamies can't last well also... just my preference, Good luck with whatever you go for mate.... I gotta move like Jagger now....
GJ ;D
Yeah... soz to bang on...Just been looking at the Condor.. I'd forgetten how much ballast I'd had to load the nose with to balance (including a 4240 850K & 12 x 6 folding prop driven by a 3 cell 4000mAh battery) for COG..300g at least. The glider stiil climbs steeply even though a 4 cell is the manufacturers recommendation. So plenty of ballast to ditch in favour of FPV gear. I recon my average flight would last 40 minutes. In that time I probably climb at 3/4 throttle 7 times for a minute. Usually the batteries take 14 - 1800mAh. You need a lot of expo on the elevator, you know how responsive 'T' tails are...
I'm off outto fly it now for the first time this year... oo-er.
GJ
With the FPV gear on? Will be interested to see how it goes...!
regards
Andy
Me too....
I want to check which Granpaw would keep for fpv if he could only keep one of them, Cularis or Condor :)
PK
I've had my share of multiplex models and for the amount of tinkering etc you have to do to them you might as well go for the Condor 'kit' type thing where you choose your own drive, servos etc.
no guys... I aint got me f-in' FPV gear on it yet.... I told yer.. I'm trainin' on me Raptor. hopefully my Clearview goggles will be here soon and I might have a go with the Condor when I can see where I'm flyin'! :-X
The only thing I would suggest the Cularis has over the Condor is that it IS foam, all things being equal and the Cularis is gonna come out top in a crash, even the smallest tip stall and the Condor will be struggling a bit, I have my ASK21 Glider and make no bones about it, tip stall this baby and you could possible kiss goodbye to the wings and the Fuse will need some work
Crash or stall the Cularis. bit of glue and hot water, job done, plenty of room inside for an OSD and what not
I'd seriously consider it, but hey, it's your money mate
Why crash?? keep it tidy, keep it neat. :D
Fpv, you'll crash
Ok... so I've caught a tree with my Raptor. :laugh:.. but I see it as a trainer. I would hope by the time I think I'm competent enough to even think about flying anything other than a trainer type I'll be past crashing. The Condor 7 The Cularis are not trainer/ beginner craft really. Too big. 10ft-ers+ are a different kettle of fish to launch/land than a Raptor/Bixler?Easy Star..What Ever....
Quote from: bignose13 on May 07, 2013, 08:43:27 AM
Fpv, you'll crash
Every crash I've had whilst FPV has been total airframe write-off. So I don't really think about how repairable a plane is, and each time it was a technical issue, like control lock out, or wing failure.
I've managed to thermal for 25 minutes with a Skywalker 1900 but the conditions were obviously exceptional because it's only happened once. Definitely gave me an idea to have a dedicated thermal FPV ship. Would be great fun.
Update!Delivery guy arrived. but He had another Solius, not here to return the other.. Had to have a quick look in the box!
This one looks OK! So Solius FPV is back on!
Now to think about suitable bits.
regards
Andy
Good news!
Does that mean you don't need to send the old one back? Useful for spares!
Quote from: Brucey on May 07, 2013, 01:08:24 PM
Good news!
Does that mean you don't need to send the old one back? Useful for spares!
Wel being a good citizen I quizzed Susex Model Centre about that. Apparently it will be being picked up :(
Anyway now to spend More money getting it up and running!
regards
Andy
Unlucky. look forward to seeing it fly.
All things considered I think you did the right thing mate
Really looking forward to your review on it
No ones come to pick up the dud one yet today !
Anyway Here is what I'm thinking about re the project:
1) FPV Camera.
Do I want streamlined for best efficiency and least drag. And if I do Is this nice n streamlined camera:
http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/Mini-Bullet-Camera-1%7B47%7D3-Inch-SONY-CCD-600TVL-D%252dWDR-DNR-2.8mm-Lens-OSD.html (http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/Mini-Bullet-Camera-1%7B47%7D3-Inch-SONY-CCD-600TVL-D%252dWDR-DNR-2.8mm-Lens-OSD.html)
The same internally as :
http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/600TVL-SONY-SUPER-HAD-CCD-D%252dWDR-Color-Board-Camera-with-OSD-Menu-DNR.html (http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/600TVL-SONY-SUPER-HAD-CCD-D%252dWDR-Color-Board-Camera-with-OSD-Menu-DNR.html)
On the other hand , when I was an FPV passenger in Bruceys Easy Glider, we reasoned it is very desirable in a thermal soarer to have a pan tilt, especially to look down to see where you are.
Anyway thats decision 1.
I'm probably going for another like the first one above, unless anyone can recommend a cased camera of physically smaller dimensions which has as good or better fpv picture quality?
regards
Andy