EasyStar Completed

The EasyStar is finally finshed. I was able to fit all of my 'current' components inside without any issues. There is not a lot of 'extra' room to fit the microcontroller board and wiring internally, so I will more than likely be attaching the electronics to do temperature, pressure, gps, in a separate detachable module. This will allow me to use other aircraft as test beds as well without having to tear apart a perfectly good plane!

Construction Continues: Organizing Internal Components

Here is a closeup of the motor mount (aircraft plywood) which I cut out to support my brushless motor. The original plans called for a brushed Speed 400 motor which was to be glued into the aircraft. Since my brushless motor is an 'Outrunner' (outer part of motor actually turns), I had to mound it to something immobile inside the motor fairing. Luckily, nothing was rubbing when I glued it all together.

One more motor mount closeup

Two halves of the the aircraft just before I glued them together

Here you can see some of the internal components (from front to back):

• The 6-Channel JR Receiver


• 500mW Video Transmitter


• Camera Voltage Regulator

The following items round out the rest of the components:

• Camera Battery


• Flight and Video Transmitter Battery


• Brushless Electronic Speed Controller


• AXI 2212/20 Brushless Motor

A New Beginning: EasyStar Construction Begins

After ordering on Thursday evening, my EasyStar (and accessories) arrived on SATURDAY! I spent a few hours Saturday and a few hours on Sunday getting the thing whipped into shape. The rudder looked awfully inadequate; so instead of proceeding how the kit recommended, I decided to modify the tail to use an aerodynamically balanced (and larger) rudder as you can see in the picture.

I discovered I was short one HS-80 servo for the elevator, so I'll be stopping by the local Hobby Shop to pick that up today.

Platform Selected: Multiplex EasyStar

The decision was between three aircraft; all available from Hobby-Lobby.



1. Multiplex EasyStar

Very affordable ($59)

Probably fits all my current equipment (propeller will most likely be too wide)

Easily upgradable

Spare parts available

2. Hobby-Lobby Wingo

Most expensive of the bunch ($99)

Landing gear

Greatest wing area (for slower flights)

Not as easily modified

3. Graupner UHU

Sort-of Landing Gear

Relatively expensive ($98)

(Honestly, I didn't research this one much)

The Search Begins: New UAV Platforms Being Evaluated

Due to the damage, and lack of suitable upgradeability, I am going to forgo repairs on the Tipsy Nipper and instead buy a larger, more repairable, more upgradible test platform for the system.

Key features to consider:

• Portability of current power system (Motor, Speed Controller, Battery)


• Availability of spare parts and/or repairability


• Slow speed


• High lift


• Pusher prop (so propeller doesn't get in the way of the video feed)

Many people have been using the Mutliplex EasyStar, but I feel this may be due in part to the large success of vrflyer using this platform (essentially many people probably just copy his setup).

I am looking at possibly buying the Wingo Porter (see picture above). It has two motors, HUGE wing area, and is very durable and repairable. In addition, the Porter is also designed to carry a payload. Unfortunately, it appears as though it may no longer be available.

Disaster: Nipper Damaged

Sadly, after hosting a raging halloween party, somehow the Tipsy Nipper got knocked from its perch in my basement. The wing spar was broken causing the wings to come apart, the rudder was broken in the middle, and two holes were punched in the monokote. Sad day indeed.

First Video

Success! The system worked like a charm, except for some sporatic interference mainly due to me flying behind a hill which was blocking the video RX. Erik served as Ground-station Master General and manned all the electronics on the ground while I flew. We flew for about 15 minutes and captured a lot of great video. Since I didn't have a free channel to control the pan mount of the camera, I decided to couple the rudder to the camera movement. Unfortunately, the ratio of camera movement to rudder movement was far too small. This resulted in almost no pan ability because the massive rudder control threw the plane into death spins. Landing was 'interesting' as I tried to slow the plane down to a safe enough speed for Erik to catch it; unfortunately, in addition to my shoddy piloting skills, the heavy plane just wouldn't fly slow enough for a mid-air retrieval.

First Platform: Bohemia Models - Tipsy Nipper

The Bohemia Models 'Tipsy Nipper' will be my first platform for integration of my video equipment. Smaller parkflyer for a brushed Speed 300 size motor.







Equipment:

• KX-131 Color Camera
• 600mAh Camera Battery
• 300mW TX
• 1800mAh Main Battery
• AXI 2212/20 Brushless Motor
• 8x6 APC Propeller