If you are wearying of this vale of tears (and turbulence) try emulating my recent ascension.
This was the second time I had climbed into the clouds (low puffy clouds- not the kind you would confidently sit on with your harp). I suppose at not much more than 1000 metres above me. I pointed the plane up and kept going. The first time I was nervous about coming back down out of the mist, and took some time to get my bearings( no heavenly guidance-gps ).This time I was more relaxed and rose into the heavenly blue over a floor of not very thick or continuous clouds. But most amazing - above the dewline the air was absolutely calm, like flying on a simulator or in a dream, utterly predictable and precise control; I could almost hear the harp music!
Please ring for technical details.
Foufly... that is truly poetic, I wish other fellow FPVers would be as eloquent describing their ventures :clap:
Yes deep words, cool reading your experiance
I wandered, lonely, as a cloud....... :o
;D
Very evocative. :)
I'm not so sure about the legality of flying above cloudbase. LOS? :+
Its just a poem like thing, it never happened :)
it's ok - they were very low clouds that day......... and his mate was on a nearby hilltop - within talking distance so they could hear each other, and could see the plane...... :D
Was it John Donne who said, "Poetry is what you do when the weather is foul!" ?
I live in France "profonde" and a very occaisional low flying Mirage is the only hazard.
As a matter of interest, does line of sight include the use of binoculars? My spotters have found them very useful.
Thanks for the comments, Foufly.
Quote from: foufly on May 28, 2011, 08:54:51 AM
Was it John Donne who said, "Poetry is what you do when the weather is foul!" ?
I live in France "profonde" and a very occaisional low flying Mirage is the only hazard.
As a matter of interest, does line of sight include the use of binoculars? My spotters have found them very useful.
Thanks for the comments, Foufly.
I expect thay do if the person flying the plane has binocular vision if he/she had to suddenly go line of sight, when lousing video, lol, great poetry, nice morning read. :D
regards
Quote from: foufly on May 28, 2011, 08:54:51 AM
Was it John Donne who said, "Poetry is what you do when the weather is foul!" ?
I live in France "profonde" and a very occaisional low flying Mirage is the only hazard.
As a matter of interest, does line of sight include the use of binoculars? My spotters have found them very useful.
Thanks for the comments, Foufly.
Hi Peter,
Sounds like you're having some heavenly flying!
I don't know the rules in France but to answer your question; the UK rules (Article 166(3) of the Air Navigation Order) says "The person in charge of a small unmanned aircraft must maintain direct, unaided visual contact with the aircraft sufficient to monitor its flight path in relation to other aircraft, persons, vehicles, vessels and structures for the purpose of avoiding collisions."
The FPV relevant sections of the ANO are listed here: http://www.fpvuk.org/?page_id=285 (http://www.fpvuk.org/?page_id=285)
All the best
Simon
I love the idea,
but in my case there may be big byrds up there, i live to close to the Culdrose Helicopter training station and the training ground at Preddanick.
Be a shock to be confronted by a Sea king or a Merlin from the mist ;D
be nice to see the vid though :D
Dizzy
Yo Dizzy, Pasty and I are down on the lizard! Should meet up for some FPV!
Hi garyB
:) be great to meet both of you at some point, I would be very interested in the type of systems you both use and see your models. especially these speedsters in the making ;)
You both seem my sort of people, ha ha
regards Dizzy
Well I am hooked on this, despite a lost plane;I didn't lose it up among the clouds ..".I know that I shall meet my fate, somewhere among the clouds above...". I lost it in the deep, forested valley below.Unfortunately the plane turned upside down(a wing), out of radio control, so seeing what part of the valley it was headed for became impossible, then I lost video signal below the ridge.I need to know how to locate a plane that has a gps ...
I also don't know enough about esc's. I suspect I over-used the battery- turning it on again after the esc had already cut the throttle (I have found the motor will run again) and possibly used it all, including the bit I usually glide down on. I would like to know what this reserve amounts to, and if I set the throttle cut-off to high does that mean I have more gliding reserve?(there did appear to be enough mah to get down, but I was very high.)Any experts? links?javascript:void(0);
My favourite flights consist of a steady climb to the "celestial calm", float around there(listening to the harps), turn off and glide down exploiting any thermals I find. Climbing ,thermalling and gliding very slowly down(10 or 15 minutes) are possible with a plane weighing 400 to 500 gms (1050 3S battery).
The temptation is to dawdle on the way down, so some technique to reserve gliding mah's would be usefull, or just self-discipline !!
Thanks for any contributions, sermons etc;
Setting your esc to high simply cuts the motor on a higher voltage
you can get a hobby king osd for $13.13 plus postage, this will display battery voltage and flight time onscreen so you have an idea of when to start heading home
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=16662 (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=16662)
Fourfly,
Ive not yet got an OSD, so I too often fly to the esc cutoff (I set a timer at takeoff) then glide home. I've been doing this for years - FPV and third person - often from very high altitude. I try to limit the amount of times I fire up the motor after the first cutoff. Obviously, running lipos to no less than 80% capacity is best for long life, but my 3S FPV packs are pretty cheap!
The other day I was having a fantastic FPV session. I was way above 1000' so decided to take my time gliding home. When I got to maybe 2x treetop height, and still some way out, I fired up the motor but it would not arm! I headed for a field near to my road and hoped for the best, because shorty after that at about tree top height I lost video feed. After about a 15 min hunt I found the plane - luckily a well trimmed radian lands by itself if the ground is flat!! When I got home, the battery was only about 70% discharged...
So in conclusion, for some reason my esc would not arm but all other controls were working. This may be a cheap esc issue, or perhaps because the fail safe is on throttle? Maybe the folding prop causes an issue? I just wonder if this is what happened to you?
Sorry to hear you lost your plane. Nice story before that, though!
-Matt
thanks ,yes I have ordered that HK battery osd.
I am pleased to hear some one else has discovered the pleasure of power- off fpv!I have been building my own design lightweight gliders (150gms with 19gms motors ,360 or 610 2S batteries) for some time and found getting into thermals a matter of routine,but getting a stiff neck! So getting into them was the answer.At about 450 gms they gain altitude very easily, using 200-300mah, then I cruise around, turn off and glide down. In the last few days the thermals have been terrific,and three or four times I have had to fight my way down! Once I was sucked up into the base of a large cumulous, and had to risk tearing the wing off in a steep prolonged dive. Sometimes the lift, at that altitude, is so general and the flight so long I risk falling asleep at the stick! I think this may be due to staring into the goggles for long periods?
I now think I may have lost my plane due to a signal break; the way it behaved before losing video makes me think there was no fail-safe.
I am trying to get the best signal and distance with simple means (so as not to lose another load of equipment worth 400e!)I would be very interested to hear what you are using. I don't mind investing in the ground station. Happy flying, foufly
Plane pic's to follow