Update time!


I made a step-up converter to be able to get rid of the 3s500mAh battery I used before, and since I fly on a 3sA123 I need to step-up the voltage to 12V to power the video setup.
Sorry for the messy layout but I didn't feel like making a new board after adding the nessesery filtering.


I had to sacrifice looks for preformance when I mounted the FASST antennas.






One of the two gyros that is going to help me get a nice smooth flight in a litle more wind
The other gyro hasn't arrived yet, but its going to be mounted at a 45° angel to get best performance for the rudder.


Heatshrink on the servos to not have to glue directly on the servos.


Just before the gluing of the fuse.


Glued.


Tail glued.


Controlrods mounted.


Servos in place.


6*4 Prop mounted

The build continues soon...

Since the range of my video TX is much further than my RC link I thought that I would increase the range a bit.


To do this I will replace the stock 3dBi Omni antenna with a 9dBi Patch anenna.


I decided to change the SMA connector to a U.FL to eliminate the losses that comes with having long wires and multiple chain connectors.


Re-assembling the patch.


The patch in place and hooked up.








I’ve used this LiPo in this transmitter for over a year and it has worked flawlessly.
I use a diode in series with the battery to lover the volts by 0.9V.

Now its time to start the build of my new FPV Easystar!


I started out with some 2mm carbonrod to stiffen up the elevator


Nice and flat after sanding som exess of


I also added a 6*1mm carbon strip to stiffen the rest of the tail (I dont like flex )


Some 10*0,5mm carbon strips in the wings


It adds a lot of strenght to the wing


I also added a washer thats 18mm across and has a 8,5mm hole so ensure that the carbon rod that goes in to the wing doesn't ware on the epp hole and make the connection sloppy.


Melting away some epp with my soldering iron (I use a diffrent tip for this)


6mm carbon rod glued in


I use a layer of heatshrink on the motor so that I dont have to glue the motor itself to the epp


Melted some extra room for the wireing to the ESC


Making myself a new rudder from the start


Made frome lightwheight plywood


Monocoated it with dayglow orange


Du-bro hinges are so sweet



Well thats it for now.
Stay tuned for the next update!

It flies! And it flies good too!
Very fast and snappish despite the sloppy foam and lack of carbon fiber.

I had the electronics for a fast ~300 grams model lying around so I decided to venture in to the land of Hot-wire cutting.

The model I had in mind to start with was something like the ST-Model Typhoon 430 and just by chance my friend happened to have one.

I took the measurements of his model and printed out a Zagi-10 wing profile and made a template of do it yourself printed circuit board glass fiber.


Since I’m making flying wings with a sweep I made my setup with a pivot at one end so that I only need one template and can operate it by myself.


The wire I use is 0,4 mm “Nikrothal 80” and to power it I use a CV/CC adjustable 5A Power-supply.
I run it in CC (Constant Current) mode at about 1,7-1,9A for this type of foam.


The cut is very smooth and takes about 1-2 minutes depending on the current used.




Results.
I made the fist of cheep expanded polystyrene foam S80 (EPS).


Build up. 3mm Depron as control surfaces and winglets.




No carbon fiber in this first model.


This is the stuff I had laying around:
Motor: Fiago 20*40 ~3223kv
30A Jeti ESC
2s 1000mAh Li-po
Esky 9g servos
4,5*4 Prop

Video to come!

After washing off all the dirt I let the electronics sit in the oven at 50°C to make sure they were completely dry from all the melted snow.
With held breath I plugged everything back together and switched on the power...
Picture! We have picture!
Servos swing as they should without any broken gears.

The only thing that broke was the nose and the EZ-Pod as you can see.

Everything else works just fine!

I think its time to build myself a nice new Easystar now.

Well at least the weather was good...



It did not cross my mind that the reason I hadn’t seen the chimney was that it was blocked by a huge building.
2.4GHz don’t like massive steel structures...

Sometimes I’m not that bright it seems.

This is my first high altitude flight.
I’m also pushing the range of my 2.4GHz radio.
After all, I am an RCexplorer!



Oh what I dream of flying above the clouds...
Some day maybe...

We have a holiday home near the lake of Skagern and I wanted to fly some FPV but the fog was thick...



The plane was actually dripping water when I landed!