FPV video

[Wilf]

Gary Droppo and I have been doing a bit of model flying using our FPV (first person view) equipment.  The flight was made using a foam board airplane I built for about $5.00.  It is an FT Explorer.  Here is a video I uploaded to youtube.  The upload left a lot to be desired, but it gives some great veiws of our field. If you havent tried FPV yet I highly recommend giving it a try.  Its really a blast and gives a totally different perspective of flying our toy airplanes.  We have discovered that it is very easy to become immersed in the experience that you lose track of time and how far away you are actually flying from the field.


Here is the link...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LiaM23FJoQ


PS there is no sound to this video.

[Flypaper 2]

Excellent, Excellent job Wilf.  The camera angle is just about right on. Don't know what the little waviness is but we can put up with that. Good job.

[Flypaper 2]

Come on guys. Get on here and show Wilf a little appreciation for what he has done for our enjoyment.

[Dwayne]

Very cool stuff for sure. Maybe some day they will come up with multi camera and screens to create better peripheral vision. 

[Deerslayer]

We have lots more videos, etc., and are rapidly gaining experience. We will be posting items here, possibly in a new Forum Topic.

We had one really great learning the other day. I was flying Wilf's plane and wanted to turn over control to him. I passed him the goggles, he put them on, I passed the Tx to him ... What could possibly go wrong with that? Hey, where's the airplane? Oops!!!! Eventually, the observer (me) spotted it! Lesson learned.

Wilf's FliteTest plane is an ideal FPV platform, as is my latest delta. We have both done full flights from launch through landings on FPV, with our First Officer standing by to help (a legal and insurance requirement and a good idea!). As with full sized flight crew, you have the Pilot Flying (PF) and Pilot Not Flying (PNF). On approach, in our case the PNF usually calls height s, etc. (treetop ... 20 feet ... 10 feet ... nose up/down ... flair/cut ... etc.).  The PF handles the aircraft, the PNF performs all other functions (radio work, checklists, etc.). Side note: this has nothing to do with rank, as a well-managed flight crew normally shares duties equally except in emergency conditions. The commonly used terms, "pilot" and "co-pilot", are not really meaningful - both are pilots and it is very possible that the First Officer could have more experience on type or overall than the Captain.

Wilf's camera pivots left and right. We have tried a couple of ways to manage the camera. Currently, what Wilf likes best is to have the left stick control left/right camera movement. His plane requires very little rudder at any time (my deltas don't have rudder, so that stick movement is also available for camera panning). That mixing can be switched on or off and gives a really great sideways view, as the servo travel is about 45 degrees and the camera is very wide angle, so you probably get close to 90 degree side view when needed.
 To make things more "natural", i.e., more like you would have in a real aircraft, I like having at least a switchable option to couple in, say, 10 degrees range of camera pan associated with ailerons. In an aircraft, when you enter a turn, you move your gaze toward the turn as you enter it an at least until you neutralize controls. This would work the same way

I/we plan to build a pan/tilt camera setup soon. I plan to try this set up a flight mode that, when enabled, moves the throttle onto something else, say, the Bind switch or a slider, freeing up the left stick for camera panning alone.

So many possibilities!

Whenever I am doing FPV, I set up the tripod with the flat screen out there with us and I encourge anyone who wants to, come on over and participate. The pilot always needs an observer and welcomes such help, as well. You can also try out the goggle setup. Lots of fun to be had!

[Penguie]

sweet! This could be useful come hunting season teehee