Johnson City Radio Controllers, Johnson City, TN February, 2009

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1 Johnson City Radio Controllers, Johnson City, TN February, 2009 Club Officers President Steve Weller Vice President Ed McEntire Secretary David Bench m Treasurer Vic Koenig Safety Officer Greg Cowen Newsletter Editor Michael Maupin Field Marshals Klaus Kolger Joe Dolan Dave Peterson Webmaster Dave Collea The President s Report Hello, This year is off to a good start and I hope to keep it going all year long. We had a good turn out for the last meeting I hope to keep up the good attendance for all of our meetings. Here are the names for the 2009 committee s we have as of now. Event committee: Derwin Cartmell, Steve Weller, Greg Cowan, Don Martin Field Maintenance: Skip Weller, Derwin Cartmell, Steve Weller Finance Committee: Vic Koenig, Steve Weller, Upper Field Development: Derwin Cartmell, Skip Weller If you would like to help out please let one of us know and we will put you on the list. As for the flying boundary issues I would like to say thanks to all who have been helping out with the issues that we have had involving the women next door. To make it clear we had sent out an a while back asking people to restrict their flying to certain points to help keep people from flying over the houses and to ease the issues between us the and women next door. After talking to several people and some of us talking to the women, we feel that the club has had ample time to learn the flying parameters and after discussing with some of the board members and Greg Cowen who is the safety officer and sits on the board it has been decided that we should open the field to full flying. With the reminder that we still need to watch how far we are flying in that direction. Some members will need gentle reminders now and then about being aware of these ladies and our flying area and just how far we are flying at times. So if you do see someone flying to far that way just nicely remind them of how far they are flying and that they may want to try to bring it in a bit. The women are abreast of the fact that we are addressing it. And have been very willing to work with us to keep all parties happy. We will need to watch for when the limits look too pushed at the edge of our property and try to not fly to far that way. We need to keep in mind their concerns, that they are there and remember our flying limits. All IMAC and Pattern flying must remain on our side of the trees close to the flight line, as all have agreed to. We must also remember that we are there having fun and enjoying the hobby we love but the people that live around us has to live there so let keep them in mind and lets all do our part to keep everyone happy. Thanks, Steve - 1 -

2 From the Editor I am sorry for the delay in the newsletter this month. I waited until past the deadline for reports and information that needed to be sent to me, but decided to publish without it.. Michael Maupin 237 Picadilly Lane Gray, TN Important Reminder The club dues are, well, due. As per the club bylaws, membership should be renewed by the end of December (not February as has been done in the past). Dues are $50.00 plus mowing fee of $30.00 or $15.00 for seniors. Please include a photocopy of your up to date AMA card with your renewal application. Notes from February Meeting I must apologize, the meeting minutes were not made available to me in time for publication. If you would like a copy, please contact me and I will have them sent or ed to you as soon as I get them. I have my Yellow Aeroworks 30% Extra 260 for sale. Item includes: DA-50R, All JR 8611A servos, Fromco Regs and Batterys 2600 ign,5200 RX. Jtec exhaust pitts style, Airwild wing bags, Jersey modeler tank. Many extras too, Xoar props, Jtec Muffler and a new walbro carb from DA. Not to mention a really nice graphics set-up. New in the air make me an offer I cant refuse. Greg L. Cowen cowengl@wtodocs.com I am selling my E-flite Extra Edge 540 3D profile plane that is ready to fly. Included is the E-flite park 450 motor and Common Sense 20A speed Control. The only thing needed is your receiver. Plane has been flown only twice, and flies beautifully. $ Michael Maupin wristwatchme@aol.com Senior Pattern Association New changes for Novice Pattern from to 09-10: 1. One half Cuban eight and 2. One reverse outside loop The 180 degree turn has been added to all three classes on the new schedule Items for Sale If you wish to have an item listed in the for sale column, please let me know by the 10 th of the listing month. 2

3 Introduction to F.P.V. Flying By Michael Maupin Around 2005 a new type of radio controlled flight worked its way into basements and hobby rooms of gadget guys. F.P.V. or First Person Video. This new area of radio controlled flight was limited to those with the expertise in video and electronics. These "pioneers" were building small and powerful video transmitters, mounting them along with a micro camera to their aircraft, and piloting by watching a monitor of the camera feed. This gave the pilot a unique perspective to fly his aircraft as if he/she were in the cockpit, using the tv monitor and transmitter as his sole implements of navigation. In the last few years the technology has become more readily available to the masses in the form of plug and play systems that have most or all of the problems of earlier systems such as signal interruption and strength, power consumption, weight, etc., worked out. I personally first started learning about FPV in late 2007, and really wanted to try it but was confused about where to start or what to get. I had visited many boards and web sites dedicated to FPV flying, and the more I read, the more questions I had. There are many types of cameras, video glasses (the preferred method of piloting rather than using a monitor), and transmitters in varying frequencies and power ratings. It's a lot of information to learn about to make an informed decision, and you want to make the right choice as it will cost in the neighborhood of 600-1,000 dollars for a 3 basic FPV system. (Not including whatever aircraft you choose to use.) In mid 2008 Hobby-lobby introduced a new plug and play system which was not yet available at the time but they were taking pre-orders. On the surface this looked perfect! A color micro camera, tx, rx, video glasses all pre-wired with all cables and accessories needed for around $600.00! However, I did things backwards. I pre-ordered, then while waiting I started reading and learning more. I soon realized for reasons outlined below that I needed something different. I quickly cancelled my order and began researching further. I found that most custom suppliers are overseas either in the U.K. or China. A U.S. supplier would be preferred-not so much for the political aspect, (I mean all this equipment originates in China) but more for the easier communication (if needed) and quicker shipping time with no possible customs delays. Where to buy: The two United States based suppliers I found were in Texas and in Georgia, the latter, Rangevideo has had numerous complaints on the internet boards of taking money and waiting sometimes months before shipment with no replies to questions or concerns about orders. After reading more than a few disturbing posts on the FPV forums about them, I decided on Hobbywireless, which did a fantastic job shipping in 3 days via priority mail and ing me telling me when my order was received, shipped, and providing me with a tracking number.

4 What Frequency? There are 3 main transmitting frequencies available 2.4Ghz, 1.2Ghz and 900Mhz, 1.2Ghz is illegal by F.C.C. to operate in the United States, 2.4 has some limitations, although it does not take as much power to broadcast the same signal, 2.4 cannot penetrate objects such as trees and buildings as well as 900Mhz does. 2.4 is lighter because of the antenna size, however the deciding factor for me was 2.4 cannot be used with a 2.4 radio system, nor can anyone within a 200ft radius (just make that the flying field) can switch on their 2.4 transmitter while you are flying or your video signal may become vulnerable to interruptions. Hobby-lobby's system is 2.4 only. How much power? As far as broadcast strength, the 500mw is not the most powerful nor the least but provides ample strength for distance and clarity of signal, and still allows me to fly behind objects and hills with little or no interruption of my signal. The Hobby-lobby system operates on 10mw, which will give line of sight only with about 1/2 mile tx distance. Keep in mind, the more powerful system you use the more vulnerable your aircrafts radio is to interference from it, although the frequency difference is wide, the proximity of the video tx and aircraft rx may cause problems. PCM receivers are an ideal choice for FPV. Cameras: Most cameras offered operate in the range of lines of resolution. They operate on 5v-12v DC (depending on the model). Power is supplied via the video transmitter which gets power from 4 a small >1000mw li-po. The more lines the better picture quality is, and the higher the price. Weight varies with cameras as well. Plug and Play: A plug and play system is already prewired with a microphone and jacks and simply needs to be installed on the aircraft. You can however save some money by ordering the components and wiring yourself. Video Glasses: For those that haven t seen them, video glasses are like space-aged looking sunglasses that use small lcd video screens to show a virtual big screen image. They also offer stereo sound using small plug-in ear buds. Although any size/type of RCA jack equipped monitor can be used, the glasses offer the best portability. You may find the best deal by not using fpv suppliers, but shopping online. There are a lot of choices here and prices can vary widely. The general consensus from a lot of FPV'rs is the Headplay brand glasses are the best for video quality, but at around , they are in the upper price range. One Fatshark brand model that is designed solely for FPV has the video receiver and battery built in eliminating the need for a ground station. The thing to remember here is there is a lot of wordplay used in describing glasses. One pair may offer a 50" virtual screen and another may advertise an 80" screen. You might think the 80" is bigger right? Not necessarily, be sure to read the specifications: At what distance is the virtual screen being measured from? My 42" plasma screen looks a lot bigger sitting 1 meter away than if I were sitting 2 meters away. Be sure to read

5 the technical specifications to insure that you are getting the largest possible screen size. Another thing to remember is the screen resolution varies, 640x480 resolution provides the sharpest picture. A good choice would be 640x480 resolution glasses with a screen size of 72" or larger at 1 meter viewing distance. A pair like this would run around +/- $ A budget conscious flyer can use a TV set and may be able to pick up an old soon to be outdated tv at a real bargain. Accessories: Most of these systems are powered by small 3 cell li-po batteries, one for the tx and one for the rx(unless you have the Fatshark glasses with built-in receiver and battery) Your supplier will recommend the right size packs to use for your chosen system. Higher gain antennas are also worth looking into for distance and quality reception. If you want to share your flying experience you can record your flights and even split the signal to a big screen tv for an audience to view while you fly. On screen displays can tell you where you are, how far away, altitude, speed, and even can guide you back home using on screen prompts. If you really catch the bug, be sure to check out the motion tracking equipment that allows you to look around simply by turning your head! Vehicle choice: The most popular choice is the Easystar available at Hobby-lobby. This slow flyer foamy was practically made for FPV due to the pusher prop design keeping the prop out of camera view. It also allows the camera to be mounted front and center in the cockpit. It is easy to fly, not too fast, cheap, durable and can 5 handle the added weight of the FPV equipment. Being an electric aircraft there is no worry of fuel residue on delicate electronics. This is by far not the only aircraft you can use, in fact just about any aircraft (including gas and nitro powered) can be used with a little planning and thought. Rules and guidelines: The AMA in conjunction with the FCC and FAA do allow FPV flights contraire to what you may have heard or read. This is a relatively new type of flying, so an "etched in stone" list of rules has not yet been agreed on, but the AMA does understand that technology like this does have a place in our hobby. There is a list of rules and guidelines for FPV on the AMA website, but views can change from club to club so a little communication and discretion is recommended. Basically just use common sense and always err on the side of safety and courteousness when in doubt. Keep an eye on the rules as they may change from time to time until a definite policy is in place. There is a lot more to add but I wanted to keep the newsletter cost down for printed copies, for those with computer access you can click on the following links for a FPV recorded flight I made last year at our field, and more info on getting started into FPV flying. Ed Ritsko has decided to undertake a FPV setup which I will be detailing in future newsletters. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask, I will be glad to help. FPV flight <Link to flight at our field

6 Vic Koenig 3404 Berkshire Circle Johnson City, TN Address correction requested Our Club Sponsors: Notice to Membership Access to the Members Only section of the JCRC Website is as follows: Username= jcrc (lowercase) Password= 00 + current gate combination Next Meeting is: Tuesday February 24, :45 PM at the Golden Corral restaurant N. Roan St. Johnson City, TN (423) Benedicts Ace Hardware 3607 N. Roan St Johnson City, TN (423) Boy s Toys 1305 Tusculum Blvd. Suite 1 Greeneville, TN (423)

The Plane Talk The official monthly Newsletter of Angelo RC Inc

The Plane Talk The official monthly Newsletter of Angelo RC Inc www.angelorc.com Angelo R/C Inc. PO Box 60103 San Angelo, Texas 76906 Volume 7, Issue 10 October 2013 Upcoming Events: Thursday September