Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Helicopter UAV Tests: Blade CP+

So, its been a while since I've done any updates, but I should point out that its been REALLY cold, and I was tired, and well... Ok, I'm lazy. I was fortunate enough to get an EFlite Blade CP+ for Christmas from my dad-in-law (he understands my addiction). From my extensive helicopter experience (see previous post), I figured this would be the perfect way for me to get some real flight time in without having to worry about all the problems associated with flying the glow-powered helicopter outdoors (wind, gas, starters, cold weather, rain, earth, lawn gnomes).

I've logged approximately 15 flights so far this Winter since I got the thing. I've also been practicing a lot with the simulator (Realflight G4) for forward flight.

A few of my most recent flights have included the onboard wireless video camera. I'll post the latest one as soon as its available! Unfortunately, with the symmetrical blades, it small helicopter doesn't have enough 'umph' to fly outside of ground effect while carrying the camera payload. I should be able to improve this by using some flight-bottom rotor blades and my lighter camera/tx combo which is currently permanently mounted inside the EasyStar. I also plan on doing the Brushless Motor upgrade in the future.