The Air Hogs “Aero Ace” is a miniature RC plane highly recommended by RC hobbyists. The Aero Ace model is sold by Toys-R-Us, Target, Walmart and Kmart for $29.99. What makes these planes so special (besides the low price) is that they fly slow and make tight turns, so you can fly them around the house. They are advertised on the box as "back-yard fliers". Another great feature is that they are virtually unbreakable; they just bounce off solid objects. (They're made of styrofoam.) The Aero Ace has a 9-inch wingspan and has two propellers that are used for both thrust and turning ("vectored control"). The remote control has two control sticks; one for turning and one for thrust. The remote control comes in 3 encodings; A, B & C, so up to 3 planes can be flown together. These planes have electric motors with high charge-density Lithium-Polymer (LIPO) rechargeable batteries. These planes fly for 10 minutes and take 20 minutes to recharge. It's best to fly all these planes in dead calm; no wind. The wind is usually calm from dusk to dawn. Beware of trees! These RC planes are often lost in trees, so fly low when flying near trees. These planes are not sold with wheels; they are meant to be launched by hand and landed on grass. For wheels and other upgrades, see the paragraphs below.
There are many versions of the "Aero Ace". The biplane (pictured above) is the original version. The biplane flies slowest and in the tightest places. It flies at about 6 mph and turns with a 6-foot radius. It flies well but "porpoises" a lot. The jet (pictured above) is the 2nd version. It flies faster, is more stable & aerodynamic, tolerates wind better and takes off on wheels more easily. The jet flies at about 8 mph and turns with a 9-foot radius. The 3rd version (pictured below) is the monoplane. It's my favorite. It is as aerodynamic as the jet but makes tighter turns. It flies at about 7 mph and turns with a 7-foot radius. The monoplane is only sold as channel-B. Another good one is the "Power Hawk" (pictured below) sold exclusively by Toys-R-Us. Air Hogs changes its plane models from year to year. The planes that most closely resemble the original Aero Ace in Fall 2009 are sold at Target and are called "Jet Set".
The other RC plane in the picture above is called the "RC Single-Wing Plane" made by Silverlit Electronics. It is sold by Toys-R-Us for just $19.99. It's a little harder to fly because it's fast and furious and tends to dive when it turns. It is a conventional plane with a single propeller and a servoed rudder. This plane flies at about 20 mph and turns with a 20-foot radius, so it needs a much larger area to fly. It flies for 2 minutes and takes 15 minutes to recharge its NIMH batteries.
The new Aero Ace monoplane:
1. Purchase a box of “Quiet Please” foam earplugs from Walmart (for ultra-light wheels).
2. Purchase some 0.020 inch diameter music wire from a hobby shop (for struts).
3. Purchase a bag of tiny 2mm diameter jewelry beads from a craft store (for spacers).
4. Flatten one earplug and cut it in half with scissors to make 2 wheels.
5. Wait one hour for the wheels to regain their shape.
6. Cut 2 pieces of music wire (with dikes) to a length of 80 millimeters.
7. Bend each piece of music wire (using long-nose pliers) into a shape that will support each
wheel 40mm below the wings. Make all bends right-angles. Beginning at the wheel end, make the bends at the following positions; 20mm, 40mm, 10mm, 10mm. The last two bends will form an L-shape foot that will sit flat against the bottom side of the wing. The 40mm section will extend straight down from the wing and the 20mm section will form the axle parallel to the wing.
8. Slide a bead onto the axle followed by the wheel then another bead. Fold a tiny piece of duct tape over the end of the axle to retain the wheel and beads. When putting the wheel on, simply skewer the wheel onto the axle. To get the wheel on straight, it helps to rotate the wheel as if screwing it onto the axle.
9. Tape the landing gear to the under side of the wing with 15mm square pieces of duct tape. Position each wheel as far forward on the wing as possible. The wire should extend down from the leading edge of the wing directly ahead of and in line with the propeller motor.
10. Place the plane on a tabletop. The landing gear should hold the front end of the plane about 1 inch above the tail. This upward pitch is required for take-off.
11. Push the plane by the tail along the tabletop to verify that the wheels are parallel and track straight forward. If necessary, remove the landing gear from the wing, turn and re-attach so that the wheels track straight. (You don’t want the wheels to do a split when the plane rolls forward.)
12. Note where the tail of the plane touches the ground and place a strip of cellophane tape across that surface on the tail to reduce friction with the ground.
13. Place the plane on any roughly smooth surface such as a paved driveway. Apply full throttle. The plane should taxi for about 10 feet then take off! (Adjust the trim control to make the plane go straight.)
14. Try landing on the driveway. With a little practice you should be able to land the plane without crashing. The plane can then be made to turn and taxi while on the ground, and take off again!
15. A vacant parking lot is the best place to practice take-offs and landings. If a smooth road surface is not available, the plane will take off from a car roof, picnic table or card table.
16. The jet should have no trouble taking off, but the biplane may sometimes fish-tail, roll over and crash. To increase the stability of the biplane, add a tail wheel. Make the tail wheel just like the front wheels but change the 40mm dimension to 10mm. Attach the tail wheel to the bottom of the horizontal stabilizer wing.
17. The monoplane needs a tail wheel to lift the tail and provide clearance for the propellers. The tail wheel can be positioned below the trailing edge of the front wing.
18. The foam wheels will wear down with use. For high mileage treads, wrap a 1/4 inch wide strip of duct tape around each wheel.
This upgrade makes it possible to fly the plane at night when there is no wind:
Tape the leads of a common red LED such as Radio Shack #276-041 (or blinking LED such as Radio Shack #276-036) directly to the terminals of a tiny 3V lithium watch battery (such as Radio Shack #CR1025, #CR1216 or #CR1220). The LED is polarized, so swap the leads if it doesn’t light. Tape the LED & battery to the top or bottom of the plane near the center of gravity. (3V watch batteries cost $4.49 at Radio Shack, but they can often be found inside keychain LED lights sold at dollar stores.)
This throttle spring upgrade has two beneficial effects. First, it makes it easy to find the minimum throttle setting which is the most often needed throttle setting (out of the 8 available throttle speeds). Minimum throttle is most often needed for level flight, turns and landing. Second, it prevents loss of control during turns because the plane will not turn at zero throttle.
1. Cut off the wire-crimp portion of a small (6-32 size) spade lug to create a piece of sheet metal shaped like the letter “Y”. (Small spade lugs can be purchased at Radio Shack.)
2. Using pliers, bend the bottom portion of the “Y” to form a right angle with the “U” portion of the “Y”.
3. Read the instructions for “Throttle Spring Mod” by selecting “Hop-ups” then “Transmitter Mods” at www.aatoolbox.no-ip.org, but instead of disconnecting the throttle spring, install the bent portion of the spade lug under the throttle pivot screw so that it prevents the spring from returning the throttle all the way to the “Throttle Off” position. Tighten the pivot screw to fix the position of the spade lug.
4. Turn on the plane’s power switch and adjust the position of the spade lug as necessary so that the propeller turns at the minimum speed setting (but not fully off) when the throttle lever is released.
5. Remember to set the throttle to zero after landing or crashing the plane because the spring no longer shuts off the throttle.
Out of the box, the Aero Ace does not respond to a turn command at zero throttle. This can be confusing and make it hard to bring the plane down when it gets too high and gets carried away by the wind. If you shut off the throttle, the plane will come down but may glide off in the wrong direction. If you give it throttle to turn, it may keep climbing. This upgrade makes it possible to accurately land the plane with just the turn controls and no throttle. Read the instructions for “Zero-Throttle Turn Mod” by selecting “Hop-ups” then “Transmitter Mods” at www.aatoolbox.no-ip.org. This site gives instructions for the Zero-Throttle Turn Mod for both old and new transmitter board layouts, but the modification given for new boards is more complicated than it needs to be. All that is needed are two small-signal diodes connected from the D2 and D4 pads (under the turn lever) to the P11 pad as shown in the following photo. (Click here for photo.)
Charging the Aero Ace runs down the batteries in the transmitter very quickly. After a few charges the transmitter batteries become weak and need to be replaced. Constantly buying new batteries gets expensive. Using rechargeable NiMh batteries in the transmitter is one solution but then those batteries need to be removed and recharged after every few flights. A better solution is to install a charging jack on the transmitter and connect an external 9 VDC power supply while charging the plane. Purchase a Size-M Panel-Mount Coaxial Power Jack from Radio Shack. A 9 VDC wall-mount power supply can also be purchased at Radio Shack. Get one that can deliver at least 500 ma. To open the transmitter you need to remove the batteries, remove 7 screws, remove the antenna and slit the FCC label. Cut a small mouse-hole in the bottom cover of the transmitter to mount the jack. A mouse-hole is easy to make with the "Nibbler Tool" sold by Radio Shack. The jack needs to be wired to break the (-) connection to the battery compartment because it switches the (-) side of the jack. For more info and photos, see the instructions for “External Charging Jack Mod” by selecting “Hop-ups” then “Transmitter Mods” at www.aatoolbox.no-ip.org.
Up to 3 Aero Ace planes can be flown at a time because they are available on 3 independant channels: A, B & C. The channel of a given transmitter or receiver is determined by how the channel pads are jumpered. Look for 3 adjacent square pads on either the transmitter or receiver board. One pad is labeled "B", one is labeled "C" and the center pad is not labeled. To select channel "B", the center pad is connected to pad "B". To select channel "C", the center pad is connected to pad "C". To select channel "A", all 3 pads are left disconnected. If desired, the transmitter and/or receiver channel can be changed by changing the way the pads are jumpered. A 3-position switch can be wired to the 3 pads on the transmitter to make the channel changes quick and easy. A single transmitter with this upgrade and perhaps other upgrades above can then be used to fly any Aero Ace. Miniature 3-position switches (with center-off) can be purchased at Radio Shack. The receiver board is sandwiched to the small plastic panel on the bottom of the plane. The plastic panel is held to the styrofoam by a non-hardening stickum. To remove it, simply pull it away from the styrofoam slowly & steadily. Be very careful because the wires attached to the receiver are very thin & fragile and break off easily. A safer technique is to simply push down on the styrofoam along side the plastic panel to expose the square channel pads. The channel pads are located on the edge of the receiver board, adjacent to the charging jack on the side of the jack that the power switch moves to when off. You will need a magnifying glass to see the pads and a thin-tipped soldering iron to jumper the pads with a bead of solder. For more info and photos, see the instructions for “Channel Change Mod” by selecting “Hop-ups” then “Transmitter Mods” or “Receiver Mods” at www.aatoolbox.no-ip.org.
Lithium Polymer batteries deliver higher currents and have roughly twice the charge-to-weight ratio of Ni-Cad or NIMH batteries. LIPO batteries have no memory, so they can be recharged at any time. Use only the charger provided because a LIPO battery will be damaged and can even burst into flame if overcharged. The charger provided will not overcharge the battery. An unusual weakness of LIPO batteries is that they are damaged if they are fully discharged. A LIPO battery will no longer hold a charge once it is fully discharged, so always remember to shut off the plane's switch when you are done flying. The plane's receiver is designed to shut off the engines before the battery gets too low, so the plane will usually go dead without warning during flight. If the plane ever shows signs of weakness as if the battery was low, stop and recharge the battery. It's a good practice to recharge the battery after every use. It's imperative to recharge when the battery charge is low. Recharge the battery every 6 months if the plane is not in use.
A common problem with DC motors is loss of power due to corrosion of the brushes. The symptom is inability to fly straight. A drop or two of WD-40 on the shaft of the bad motor can cure this problem.
These links describe other possible modifications and upgrades:
www.ultimaterc.com/air/tips/air_hogs/aero_ace
www.aatoolbox.no-ip.org (select "Hop-Ups”)
(If you are good with a soldering iron, the "External Charging Jack",
"Channel Switch Mod" and "Turning" upgrades are very useful.)
This Toys-R-Us link gives RC plane descriptions and customer reviews:
www.toysrus.com
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Video of Aero Ace Jet with LED light
Video of Aero Ace Jet flying with birds
Video of the high-performance "Flying Powerboat" (sold at www.flyingpowerboat.com)
Michael Connally invented the Flying Powerboat and now promotes the Storm Launcher.
"Storm Launcher" is Air Hogs version of the flying powerboat sold at Toys-R-Us.
"Flying High" music video by Captain Hollywood Project (Flying Powerboat theme song)
Video of a really big RC F14 Jet.
Video of fast RC Jets at an air show.
Video of a really big RC B-29 Bomber launching an X-1 Rocket Plane.
Video of an acrobatic RC airplane.
The Storm Launcher is not as powerful and acrobatic as the original Flying Powerboat, but it takes off from water or pavement and flies.
The Storm Launcher Seaplane:
Ed created a seaplane by strapping a large styrofoam glider to the top of the Storm Launcher. The glider (called Airstream) has a wingspan of 4.5 feet and was purchased for $6.99 at Toys-R-Us. The seaplane hasn't been tried on water yet, but with small foam wheels under each pontoon it takes off easily from pavement.
The seaplane lumbers through the air at about 10 MPH and turns with a 50 ft radius:
(Photo by Amy Lakatos)
Anniversary gift 5-26-07: the Air Hogs Havoc Heli.
This is the world's smallest production remote control helicopter and sells for $29.99 at Toys-R-Us. This RC helicopter has a stabilizer bar above the main rotor (similar to some Bell helicopters) so it hovers very nicely. The remote control has a throttle control for up & down and it has a yaw control (for tail rotor) for turning. There is no "forward" control. Out of the box this helicopter simply hovers. To make it go forward you must add small weights (supplied) to the nose. For faster forward flight, add bits of duck tape cut into 1/2-inch squares to the nose as additional weight. The transmitter transmits infra red light, not radio waves, so the helicopter cannot be controlled under direct sunlight. It's best to have an unobstructed 8-foot square indoor area for flying, but this helicopter can be flown outdoors in the evening when the sun is down and the air is dead calm. The transmitter has plenty of range, so take care not to lose the helicopter up in a tree or up on the roof. This helicopter is fairly easy to fly. There are times when it is very well behaved, but more often it has a mind of its own and you have to make constant yaw corrections. "Link to Havoc Heli WEB site".
Father's Day gift 6-17-07: The Air Hogs "Power Hawk" biplane.
This biplane is not officially an "Aero Ace", but it is made by the same company and is made of all the same parts exclusively for Toys-R-Us. It has very similar flying characteristics to the original biplane; it's just a bit bigger and perhaps a bit more stable. It makes tight turns even though the transmitter incorporates the "slow turn mod" as described under "Hop-Ups" on the "www.aatoolbox.no-ip.org" WEB site. It is a true "Backward Flyer" even though the box only says "Fly Outdoors". It has a cute, slow-turning, free-wheeling propeller on the nose just for show.
The Power Hawk is only sold as channel-B. This plane can be fitted with landing gear as I described above for the other planes, but it needs 3 wheels. Make all 3 struts 25mm long (instead of 40mm). Place 2 wheels about 5 inches apart along the leading edge of the bottom wing and place the nose gear just behind the front propeller.
Video of Ed's Power Hawk flying with Seagulls over Lake Candlewood (9-6-07).
The Storm Launcher took off from water and flew very nicely at Lake Candlewood with these added 5" x 7" wings made from a styrofoam food tray (photo 7-17-07).
The Storm Launcher took off and flew without the added wings, but once it was wet it had difficulty staying airborne.
The big styrofoam glider (tried earlier) made the Storm Launcher too heavy to take off from water.
Seagulls fly with my Power Hawk over Lake Candlewood 9-6-07.
Birthday gift 9-14-07: The Estes "Blue Angels Sky Ranger".
Also shown are two Air Hogs; the red Power Hawk and green Aero Ace monoplane.
Get ready for big plane fun! The Blue Angels Sky Ranger has a 31.5 inch wingspan. It needs a big field (about 100 yards across) in order to maneuver and needs an adjacent paved parking lot (about 15 x 100 feet) for take-offs and landings. This plane is not unbreakable like the smaller planes. It's best to attach the wings and landing gear loosely so that they pop off rather than break off on crashes. To compensate for any turning bias, offset the main wing up to 1/4 inch to the right or left relative to the fuselage. (Shifting wing to right compensates for a right turn bias.) This plane takes off, flies and lands smoothly and realistically. It also crashes realistically, breaking into pieces. You'll need lots of 5-minute epoxy, tape and rubber bands to keep it flying. The throttle and turn controls are just on-off, not proportional, but work well enough. Turning is accomplished with the two propellers (vectored control). Turn slowly and gently; hard turns will send it into a dive. This plane comes with a charger that is designed to plug into a car's cigarette lighter but it can also be powered by a 12VDC 1amp wall plug-in power supply purchased at Radioshack. The NiMh batteries will power the plane for about 10 minutes of flight. This plane sells for just $49.96 at Walmart.
Link to Blue Angels Sky Ranger at www.walmart.com.
Link to Blue Angels Sky Ranger at www.target.com.
Link to Blue Angels Sky Ranger at www.estesrockets.com.
Video of ED Lakatos flying his Sky Ranger at Meckauer Park in Bethel CT (10-4-07).
Video of ED flying his Sky Ranger at Connecticut Extension Service in Bethel CT (10-6-07).
Video of Jeff Capeci flying his Sky Ranger during our lunch break at work (6-27-08).
Replacement Parts:
A list of replacement parts for the Estes Blue Angels Sky Ranger can be found on the last page of the plane's instruction manual and also under "Instructions" on the www.estesrockets.com link above. Item #061648 is 4 spare propellers for $6.99. Call 1-866-532-6962 to place an order. The entire plane is item #004148 and costs $99.99; twice the Walmart price.
Purchased 10-17-07: The Air Hogs "X-Twin Stunt Plane".
This jet plane is also not officially an "Aero Ace", but is made by Air Hogs and is made of all the same Aero Ace parts exclusively for Target stores. It is available in channels A, B & C for $29.99. With its sleek swept-back wings it is the fastest of the Aero Ace style planes and can fly in a slight breeze. It also has a bigger turn radius so it is not a "back-yard flier". Take it to the park. It needs a lot of space to fly. Make landing gear for it as described above. It takes off nicely on 2 wheels. Despite the name, it is not a "Stunt Plane". It is a reduced-cost version of the real "X-Twin Stunt Plane" sold in Europe by the Air Hogs European sister company called "X-Twin". The photo on Target's WEB site is actually that of the European plane. The European plane has landing gear and a controllable elevator that is used to fly loops.
Father's Day gift 6-15-08: The Air Hogs "Rolling Fury".
Since January 2008 Target started selling a plane called "Rolling Fury" for $39.99. This plane looks just like the "Stunt Plane" (above) but has a controllable elevator for doing loops. It also has wheels for take-offs and landings. Despite some negative reviews for this plane on the internet, my Rolling Fury flies really well. It has 2 propellers for "vectored steering" like the other Aero Aces but also has an elevator that goes up and down. The elevator control is just on-off, not proportional. It seems more powerful and flies faster than the other Aero Aces. It flies best at minimum throttle and climbs rapidly at full throttle.
Video of my Rolling Fury doing loops (6-19-08).
Christmas gift 12-25-07: The "300 Schweizer" RC helicopter.
The "300 Schweizer" RC helicopter is made by a toy company called Syma for $35. It is 24 inches long and has a 20-inch main rotor with stabilizer bar. It has only 2 control channels, so out of the box all it does is hover. It has a proportional throttle for up/down and a yaw control (with trim) for left/right turns. To get some forward motion, I moved the on-board batteries forward 2 inches. With the weight shifted forward, the helicopter moves slowly forward, but the slightest breeze over-powers it. To get higher forward speeds, I modified the tail boom so that I could change the angle of the tail rotor. With the tail boom rotated 10 degrees, the tail rotor lifts the tail (especially during right turns) causing the helicopter to accelerate forward. When turning slowly to the right, the helicopter can accelerate to about 10 MPH. When turning to the left, the helicopter decelerates and returns to a hover. In order to make it possible to turn and stop this helicopter when it's moving at 10 MPH, the vertical tail fin (still shown in photo) must be removed.
Purchased 1-4-08: The "Air Raptor".
The Air Raptor (at center of photo) sells for $39.99 at Toys-R-Us and is made by Fastlane (a company related to Air Hogs). It has an 18-inch wingspan and bigger engines than an Aero Ace. It flies very nicely but only lasts about 4 minutes on a full charge. The transmitter looks identical to the Aero Ace transmitter, but channels A, B & C are not 100% interchangeable. The charger is different because the Air Raptor uses four NiMh batteries, not Lipo. You must use the Fastlane charger or it won't charge correctly. It's best to charge the Air Raptor just before flight because these NiMh batteries often loose their charge after a few hours. It's best to charge with fresh alkaline batteries in the transmitter. The charger draws a lot of current (0.8 amps) from the transmitter batteries, so it's cost effective to use a 9-volt AC adapter as described above for the Aero Ace transmitter. Leave batteries in the transmitter even when using an AC adapter because the charger uses a 4-volt reference tap from the battery compartment. To increase lift, I extended the wings to 31-inches with panels from a styrofoam food tray. With extended wings this plane can stay aloft at minimum throttle and the onboard batteries last longer.
Pyrotechnics:
Sometimes, just for fun, small fireworks can be attached to the planes as shown in the photo above. The Air Raptor and Blue Angels Sky Ranger have enough spare lifting capacity to carry a smoke ball (available at your local fireworks store and legal in most states). "TNT" brand smoke balls are my favorite because they are lighter (0.2-ounces verses 0.4) and produce more smoke than other brands. Tape the smoke ball to the top or bottom of the fuselage near the center of gravity (I use Duck brand tape). Light the fuse and toss the plane. The smoke ball will leave a nice trail of colored smoke for about 10 seconds. If a longer time-delay fuse is desired, use a smoldering cotton cord. I use Wright's brand 6/32-inch Cotton filler Cord purchased in the sewing department at Walmart. A 1-inch length of cotton cord will burn like a cigarette for about 3 minutes. Attach the cord to the smoke ball fuse by poking a hole in one end of the cord with an awl. Slip the fuse about 1/2-inch into the hole in the cord, then tie the cord to the fuse with a short piece of kite string at the base of the cord. The kite string should be positioned so that the cord lights the fuse before reaching the kite string knot. Morning Glory sparklers and bottle rockets can also be lit with a time-delay cord. Bottle rockets are light enough that they can be carried by even the small Aero Ace planes. Bottle rockets should be angled upwards so that they fire into the sky and not down into spectators! The bottle rockets can be attached to the plane either with a launching rod or a launching tube. A straightened paper clip can be taped to the plane to serve as a launching rod. Tape a 3/4-inch length straw (I use a coffee-stirrer straw) to the bottle rocket then slide it onto the launching rod. Alternatively, embed a 3/4-inch length of straw into the fuselage of the plane and insert the tail of the bottle rocket into the straw. The Air Rapter in the photo has three launching tubes. Note that bottle rockets are illegal in most states, including Pennsylvania, but Pennsylvania law presently allows out-of-staters to purchase illegal fireworks as long as a form is signed (at the store) promising that the fireworks will be taken out of state. To find the nearest "TNT" fireworks store, go to "www.tntfireworks.com".
Video of Jeff Capeci's Blue Angels Sky Ranger firing a spark ball (7-10-08).
Launching A Glider:
The small home-made glider shown at the lower right of the photo above is launched from a rearward facing launching rod attached to the bottom of the Air Raptor fuselage. The glider is made from a styrofoam food tray, a soda straw and paper clip nose weight. The glider is held to the Raptor by a cotton thread that is laced (with a sewing needle) through a time-delay cotton cord. The glider is released when the time-delay cord burns through the thread.
Created 1-30-08: My first home-made RC plane, the "Flying Eagle"!
This RC plane (at center of photo above) has a whopping 54-inch wingspan! The airframe is a big toy styrofoam glider made by Guillow called the "Flying Eagle" purchased for $6.99 at Hobbytown USA. The electronics was taken from an Estes "Blue Angels Sky Ranger" RC plane (like the one shown in another photo above) purchased at Walmart for $49.96. The Sky Ranger is inexpensive and fun to fly, but it damages easily. The Sky Ranger is a good source of parts because it has big engines, a big battery (6 AAA NiMh cells) and the receiver and wiring is easy to remove from the fuselage. If desired, the parts can later be restored. The battery is designed to be removable (for charging). The receiver is only held in by the antenna. Simply pull the antenna wire out of the fuselage (from the receiver end) and the receiver and wiring falls out. The engines are glued to styrofoam pontoons that are glued to the Sky Ranger wings. I cut off 2 inches of the pontoon with each engine by inserting a small jigsaw blade into the small hole where the motor wires exit the pontoon. (I did not use the whole jigsaw; I just used the blade.) The pontoons cut easily because they are styrofoam and hollow. All Sky Ranger parts are attached to the Flying Eagle glider using generous amounts of Duck brand tape. The engines are taped to the leading edge and underside of the wings 8 inches from the centerline of the fuselage (as far as the wires reach). The wires do not need to be cut or spliced, but I cut off the locking tabs on the connectors so that the wings and engines can pull free harmlessly in case of a crash. The Sky Ranger's nose gear is taped to the underside of the Flying Eagle fuselage 4 inches from the nose. The battery is taped to the underside 10 inches from the nose and in line with the propellers. The rear landing wheels are taped 14 inches from the nose and the receiver is taped 16 inches from the nose. I reinforced the rear landing gear struts with crossbeams made from paper clips so that the struts stay erect. The front landing gear strut is held erect by an elastic band so that it can deflect when hitting bumps. I taped pieces of ice cream stick between the struts and styrofoam to help support the struts and to prevent the struts from puncturing the styrofoam. The wings and elevator are simply inserted into slots in the fuselage and are always easily removable. The elevator is slightly adjustable up and down. The best position for the elevator must be found by experiment. The center position is about right. If the plane is pitched too far down, it won't climb fast enough. If the plane is pitched too high up, it will stall and dive into the ground. I dove into the ground a few times; the wings popped off but there was no damage. I had to tape a small trim tab to the rudder to compensate for a slight left warp in the tail. This plane has excellent flight characteristics once it is trimmed. It needs about 30 feet of runway (pavement) to take off and land. It flies slower than the Sky Ranger (about 10 MPH verses 20). Turning is accomplished with the two propellers (vectored control). The throttle and turn controls are not proportional, just on-off, but they work just fine out to a generous 1000-foot range. The Flying Eagle is very stable and easy to fly; much easier than the original Estes plane. Straight and level flight requires about a 50% on-off duty cycle on the throttle. At zero-throttle this plane glides farther and better than any other plane I've tried. The shallow glide slope is due to the high wingspan-to-weight ratio: 54-inch wingspan and just 12-ounces total weight!
Video of the Flying Eagle doing take-offs and landings (6-18-08).
Video of the Flying Eagle doing more take-offs and landings (6-18-08).
Electronic Modifications:
The Sky Ranger transmitter has a 0.6-second shutoff circuit built into the turn controls to prevent over-turning and crashing, but the Flying Eagle doesn't need it. I found that I could disable this annoying circuit by soldering 100K resistors across capacitors C20 and C21 on the PC board inside the transmitter. (C20 & C21 are the 1uf capacitors next to transistors Q5 & Q6.) Turning is now unhindered and can be as sharp as a 20-foot radius.
Click here for photos of transmitter mods.
Adding Extra Control Channels:
While modifying the Estes transmitter, I discovered that it is based on a Silan Semiconductors part number TX-2B transmitter chip. I looked-up the TX-2B specification (using Yahoo) and found that it is actually a 5-channel RC transmitter chip. (Click here for TX-2B specification.) The Estes transmitter uses only 3 of the 5 channels: "Left", "Right" and "Forward". The "Backward" and "Turbo" channels are not used. Better yet; the Estes transmitter has a spare unused switch. When the throttle lever is pushed downward, it activates the unused switch. To modify the transmitter, just solder one jumper wire from the spare switch to pin 4 (the "Backward" control pin) on the TX-2B chip. When the throttle is pushed downward, the transmitter sends the "Backward" command to the receiver and pin 10 on the RX-2B receiver chip goes high to about 3.5 VDC (a TTL logic level). The plane won't go backward, but the engines do shut down while the throttle lever is pushed downward. If you want the engines to keep running while sending the "Backward" command, you will need to add a switch to the transmitter rather than use the throttle switch. Wire the switch so that it pulls pin 4 on the transmitter chip to ground (the negative side of the battery) when the switch is activated. Another switch can be connected to pin 6 to send the "Turbo" command. To make use of these extra channels, you need to connect some type of actuator to pin 10 or 12 on the receiver chip. You can make your plane drop a parachute, a steamer or glider, launch a rocket, or maybe even do a loop or roll! See the following paragraphs for ideas.
Adding A Drop Module:
I found that the "Arial Drop Module" made by Hobbyzone (shown above) is electrically compatible with the TTL output signal on the Estes receiver. The Arial Drop Module can be purchased for $19.99 at hobby stores such as Hobbytown USA. The Arial Drop Module has a 4-pin connector interface where pin-1 (with black-striped wire) is ground (negative side of battery), pin-2 is the TTL control input from receiver, pin-3 is not used, and pin-4 is V+ (positive side of battery). To connect the Drop Module to the receiver I cut off the non-standard 4-pin (X-Port) connector and substituted a standard 3-pin RC servo connector (with male pins) available at most RC hobby stores. I then wired a standard 3-pin RC servo connector (with female pins) to the receiver. To be compatible with standard servo wiring I connected the center pin (pin-2) to V+ on both connectors. Making the center pin V+ also prevents damage in case the connectors are plugged in backwards. Pin-1 on the receiver's connector should be connected to the black ground wire on the receiver. Pin-2 should be connected to the red V+ wire on the receiver. Pin-3 should be connected to pin-10 on the RX-2B receiver chip (the 16-pin DIP chip). The Drop Module can be attached to the plane with a rubber band. It holds the parachute with an elastic band and an electromagnet that draws about 75 milliamps. When the throttle lever is pushed down, the electromagnet momentarily shuts off and releases the parachute.
Video of the Flying Eagle dropping a parachute from drop module (7-10-08).
To Fire A Rocket:
Purchase a package of small Estes rocket engines such as model AT-3T from Walmart, Toys-R-Us or hobby stores. Nichrome igniters are included. Purchase a TIP-120 darlington power transistor from Radio Shack. Wire a 3-pin connector with male pins to the transistor and igniter. Connect the transistor "emitter" pin to pin-1 on connector (ground). Connect the transistor "base" pin to pin-3 on connector (pin-10 on receiver chip). Connect the transistor "collector" pin to one side of the igniter (connect to the igniter with miniature alligator clips from Radio Shack). Connect the other side of the igniter to the center pin on the 3-pin connector (V+). Note: There is a slight chance that the igniter will short-out and blow the fuse in the plane's battery pack when the rocket is fired. If that happens, the plane will lose power and crash. You will have to replace (or short-out) the fuse inside the battery pack.
Ed's plane electrically fires bottle rocket at a soccer net target (10-1-08).
To Control A Servo Motor:
Standard RC servo motors are not directly compatible with the simple TTL on/off output signal from the Estes receiver. A pulse-width modulator must be added. Most RC manufacturers have standardized on the same pulse-width modulation interface. A standard miniature 3-pin connector is used where pin-1 is ground (a black or brown wire). Pin-2 is V+ (a red wire). Pin-3 is the pulse-width modulated control signal (an orange or white wire). The motor position is controlled by the positive-going portion of the signal. A 1-millisecond wide positive pulse makes the motor turn fully CCW. A 2-millisecond wide positive pulse makes the motor turn fully CW. A 1.5-millisecond wide positive pulse centers the motor. The servo has a total travel of 180 degrees. The negative-going portion of the pulse is typically 20 milliseconds but is ignored by the servo. I made a pulse-width modulator using an NE555 Timer chip and some resistors and capacitors (all purchased from Radio Shack). (Click here for schematic.) This circuit does not provide full proportional contol; just full CW or CCW.
For a servo, I purchased an Ultrafly model ST-5 micro servo (just 5 grams) for $8.00 at the WRAM Air Show. Similar servos can be purchased at most RC hobby stores. The receiver drives pin-4 high on the NE555 timer to turn on the pulse train and turn the servo CW to release the payload. When pin-4 on the Ne555 is low, the pulse train stops, the servo goes idle and I can turn the servo CCW by hand to hook the payload. Only the smallest servos can be turned by hand. Most servos can only be turned with a pulse train. Small servos typically draw 100 milliamps when doing work turning and when pegged fully CW or CCW. They only draw a few milliamps when the pulse train is removed or when they are stabilized at some no-load position other than fully CW or CCW. The resistor at pin-5 of the NE555 determines the pulse width and therefore driven position of the servo. The exact value of the resistor may have to be adjusted to position the servo accurately. A 10-K trim pot can be substituted for the resistor to adjust the servo position. I designed this servo to release a styrofoam model of the Space Shuttle that sits piggyback on top of the plane. When the throttle is pushed down, the servo turns a hook that releases a string that holds the Shuttle onto a short "launching rod" made from a paper clip. A rubber band pulls the Shuttle off the launching rod. The Space Shuttle glider is made by Guillow and is sold for $4.99 by Hobbytown USA. I've launched a variety of other balsa and styrofoam gliders from my "Flying Eagle" RC plane. I've even launched some small Aero-Ace RC planes! I've found that the receiver (not transmitter) on the Aero Ace "Jet" interferes with the Estes receiver, but the other Aero Aces seem compatible. Later I came up with a simpler design for the servo drop module that works in a manor similar to the Hobbyzone drop module. When the servo turns, it releases an elastic band that straps any payload to the bottom of the plane. Here's a photo of the Flying Eagle ready to drop a balsa glider via servo:
A Non-Electronic Drop Module:
The drop module pictured below requires no electronic skills and is much lighter than the Hobbyzone module. It works with a slow burning fuse. To make it, drill a small hole through one end of an ice cream stick and cut a slot in the other end. Attach one end of an elastic band to the hole and attach a small hook made from a paper clip to the other end of the elastic band. Slip the hook through the slot and insert a short piece of underwater fuse (available at most fireworks stores) through the hook so that the fuse prevents the hook from slipping through the slot. Slip an object to be dropped (such as a parachute or balsa wood glider) under the elastic band. Tie a short piece of cotton cord to the fuse and light the cotton cord so that it smolders like a cigarette. A one inch cotton cord will smolder for about 2 minutes before lighting the fuse. When the fuse burns, it releases the hook. (Photo 7-28-08)
Making A Parachute For Drop Module:
Purchase a box of 4-gallon size small white trash bags (0.6MIL thick plastic). Cut a 17-inch square plastic sheet from a bag. (Two parachutes can be made from each bag.) To reduce static cling (so the parachute opens reliably) wipe both sides of the plastic sheet with a Bounty or Snuggle fabric softener wipe. Cut 4 pieces of thread 20 inches long. Tape one thread to each corner of the plastic sheet and tape the other end of the threads to any weight of about 1/4 ounce. Collapse the parachute (the way an umbrella collapses) and roll it up (from the top down) then wrap the thread around it. A smoke ball makes an excellent weight. Use the fuse of the smoke ball to release the parachute from the non-electronic drop module shown above. A parachute trailing smoke is a great effect!
Dropping Streamers from Drop Module:
Pilots of small planes sometimes toss a roll of toilet paper out the window just for fun. The Flying Eagle can easily carry 20 feet of paper on a cardboard roll. Fan-fold the last foot of paper to help it unfurl. The other end of the paper can be taped to the cardboard roll or not, depending on the desired effect. Another option is to attach one end of the paper to the plane; the Flying Eagle can pull a 20-foot streamer. To make a great effect even better, use the fuse of a spark-ball to drop the 20-foot streamer. Attach another small streamer to the spark ball to slow its decent. The spark ball draws attention when it explodes. For one last great effect, swing the plane around and try slicing through the streamer, but beware the streamer may snarl around the plane and cause it to crash!
Ed's plane drops spark ball & toilet paper streamer (9-3-08).
Constructed 3-22-08: a 4-channel scale model Cessna.
This RC plane has a 34-inch wingspan. On 2-23-08, some friends and I attended the WRAM R/C Expo in White Plains New York. We walked up and down the isles looking for deals from vendors from around the country. The Cessna pictured above was built from parts from three different vendors for a total of $103. The airframe kit is a model EP-400 from Imex and cost $30. This type kit is called ARF (Almost Ready to Fly) as opposed to RTF (complete and Ready To Fly). It comes with a geared electric motor to drive the propeller and has linkages to elevator, rudder & ailerons, but no servos or electronics. The front wheel is linked to the rudder. Three 8.4gm micro servo motors (to drive elevator, rudder & ailerons) from Imex cost $20. A 4-channel transmitter & receiver from Imex cost $30. Two Lithium-Ion 7.2V 700MAH batteries with charger from Megatech cost $10. An Electronic Speed Control (ESC) with amplifier to drive propeller motor from GWS cost $13. I have not mastered flying this plane yet. Controlling 4 channels will take some practice. It flies fast, turns fast and crashes a lot. I have to glue it back together after every flight. Hopefully I'll learn to do some loops and rolls before I totally destroy it!
Cessna Update 7-21-09:
I found that the reason I had so much trouble flying the Cessna above was that the Lithium Ion battery that I bought at the WRAM Show was too weak. The plane was under-powered and often ignored commands. Not knowing what was wrong I nearly gave up on it, but on 7-21-09 I tried it with a 7.4V 800MAH Lithium Polymer battery and it flew great! I did a 360-degree loop, I "waved" (by rolling left & right a few degrees, I did a 360-degree roll, then the main wing broke in half and it tumbled to the ground and crashed! All it took was a 4-inch piece of clear cellophane packaging tape to fix the wing and I was back up and flying the next day.
Constructed 5-17-08: a 2nd Flying Eagle (right side of photo).
Just like my 1st Flying Eagle, this one is made from a Flying Eagle toy styrofoam glider with 54-inch wingspan and engines & electronics from an Estes ROG Blue Angels Sky Ranger RC plane. This year's Flying Eagle glider is a bit different from last year's model but it flies just as well. The new model has much straighter wings like a plane rather than swept-back wings like a jet. To compensate for the more-forward wings, the weight has to be shifted forward by putting the battery pack directly behind the front landing gear. The front landing gear is held erect with an elastic band that gives on impact. The 2 rear landing gear are held erect with 2 small paper clips bent into the shape of right triangles. The landing gear are held to the body with white duct tape. I didn't bother with ice cream sticks on this plane. I attached the engines to the wings more securely by using string threaded through the wings then adding white duct tape. This plane has rocket launcher tubes (embedded plastic soda straws) front and back for launching small rocket fireworks straight upwards. I generally use "Clustering Bees" rockets from TNT Fireworks because they have no report, just stars. Clustering Bee rockets have engines that are the same physical size as Estes A10-3T rocket engines. The "stars" payload is easily removable and a recovery streamer can be substituted. On 6-13-08, I taped an Estes A10-3T rocket engine to the bottom of the fuselage facing rearward and this plane performed a perfect loop! The rocket engine was ignited with a time-delay fuse consisting of a smoldering thick cotton string tied to a short piece of underwater fuse inserted into the engine.
Another Video of the Flying Eagle performing a loop with a boost from a rocket engine (6-27-08).
Video of the Flying Eagle firing a "Clustering Bees" rocket (6-23-08).
Video of the Flying Eagle trailing smoke from two smoke balls (7-2-08).
Video of the Flying Eagle losing a wing in mid-flight and crashing (6-20-08).
Video of Flying Eagle missing runway and hitting cameraman (6-20-08).
Video of maiden flight of Dave Reiger's Flying Eagle (6-23-08).
Video of Dave's plane flying with other planes from an RC club (6-28-08).
Ed's plane flies banner advertising a local band called Gigabit (7-3-08).
More flight videos by Jeff Capeci.
Flying Eagle #2 was lost high in a tree on 9-11-08. It was flying fine about 200 feet directly overhead when it stopped responding to the transmitter. I operated the controls frantically and shook the transmitter but there was no response. I watched helplessly and waved goodbye as the plane slowly glided away in a straight line finally landing on the top of a tall tree. Important note: you should periodically check the batteries in your transmitter and replace with fresh batteries as necessary. AA alkaline batteries read 1.6 VDC on a DVM when new. They should be replaced when they drop to 1.4 VDC. The batteries in my transmitter all read 1.3 VDC on 9-11-08.
Flying Eagle #3:
After loosing Flying Eagle #2 in a tree, I built Flying Eagle #3. When I cut the engines off the Sky Ranger, I cut off the entire pontoon with the engine and then found an easy way to mount the engine on the Flying Eagle's wing; simply attach it with an elastic band. Loop one end of the elastic band under the engine, stretch it over the top of the wing then loop it over the back end of the pontoon. The battery can also be held with an elastic band so that it is easily removable for recharging. I increased power and reduced weight by substituting a lithium polymer battery (Electrifly P/N GPMP0400 and P/N GPMM3010 charger purchased at Hobbytown). I found that a few strips of "Friction Tape" at the base of each wing helps to secure the main wings better and still makes them easily removeable. (I've lost wings in mid-flight.) Friction Tape is sold next to the Electrical Tape at most hardware stores. I also found that the plane does not need 3 wheels to take off and land. I mounted 2 wheels about 2 inches ahead of the main wings (ahead of the center of gravity). I put a strip of tape along the bottom of the tail to reduce wear. The Estes Blue Angels Sky Ranger is no longer sold by Walmart but is still available on the Target WEB site. Link to Blue Angels Sky Ranger at www.target.com.
Link to Flying Eagle glider at www.Guillow.com.
Birthday gift 9-14-08: The Hobbyzone "Super Cub".
The Hobbyzone "Super Cub" is sold at Hobbytown stores for $160 and it is Hobbyzone's best selling RC plane. It is an "RTF" (ready-To-Fly) plane made of styrofoam with a 4-foot wingspan. It is an easy to fly beginner plane with 3 channels; elevator, rudder and throttle. This plane cruises at about 25 MPH and needs a flying field of at least 300 ft by 600 ft with about 50 ft of pavement for take-offs and landings. It is designed to use the parachute drop module shown above. 3 channels is about all I can handle but I've flown it a few times and haven't crashed it yet. On the very first flight I performed a loop!
Video of Ed's Super Cub performing a loop 11-24-08.
10-7-08 Update: I found a way to crash the Super Cub. If you perform one half a loop then push all the way forward on the elevator at the top of the loop, the plane will fly inverted. It was my intention to get it inverted, then I expected it would roll over and right itself but it didn't (and there are no ailerons to roll it). It turns out this plane is very stable inverted and can only be righted by completing the loop. I tried some turns; it banked during the turns, lost altitude but stayed inverted. When it got close to the ground I cut the engines and it dove into the ground. The propeller broke (it's replaceable) and the cowling broke (it can be taped), but there was no other damage. This plane is rugged.
Link to Super Cub at www.hobbyzone.com.
Link to Super Cub and other great beginner planes at www.rc-airplane-world.com.
Link to The Radio Control Show Video #1 about beginner RC planes.
Link to The Radio Control Show Video #2 about beginner take-offs and landings.
Link to The Radio Control Show Video #3 about indoor helicopters.
Aerial Photography:
Walmart sells a tiny digital camera (for kids) for just $9 called the "Clipshot" by Digital Concepts & Sakar. (It originally cost $29.) It only weighs 0.75 oz so the Estes Blue Angels Sky Ranger and my "Flying Eagle" can easily lift it. The camera can be put into a 10-second delay mode; launch the plane and in 10 seconds it takes a 640 x 480 picture. The camera can be put into video mode; launch the plane and it records 15 seconds of 320 x 240 video. I found that the shutter switch electronics is compatible with the Estes plane's receiver electronics. I simply connect 2 wires from the shutter to the receiver. Connect one wire from the ground pin on the shutter switch (the pin closest to the viewfinder) to ground on the receiver. Connect the other wire from the shutter switch to pin 10 on the receiver chip (the spare output channel). Wire the spare channel on the transmitter as described above for the drop module. Up to 26 photos can then be taken on command from the transmitter. The camera shuts off when idle so to keep it alive you must take a picture at least every 30 secomds. This camera malfunctions at cold temperatures so try to keep it as warm as possible in Winter.
Video from Flying Eagle over Allen's Meadow, Norwalk, CT 11-14-08.
Flying Eagle video-cam taking off and crashing into guardrail 11-20-08.
Clipshot camera attached to Flying Eagle with elastic band and wired to receiver (11-18-08).
View from plane over Allen's Meadow looking back at Ed & Jeff (11-18-08).
View from plane over Allen's Meadow looking east toward Route 7 (11-18-08).
View looking north at Condos from high above Allen's Meadow (12-1-08).
View looking south at Wilton High School from high above Allen's Meadow (12-1-08).
Aerial view of another RC flying club on other side of Allen's Meadow (12-3-08).
Ed's Flying Eagle drops a 17-inch parachute then photographs the parachute (12-4-08).
12-25-08: The Parkzone "Radian" Sailplane.
This is the new Parkzone "Radian" Sailplane sold by Hobbytown USA for $249. It has a whopping 2-meter wingspan and is "Ready-To-Fly" (RTF) out of the box. The wings & body are just styrofoam but the electronics are state-of-the-art. It has a 1300mAh 11.1V Lipo battery, 480-size brushless motor and a 2.4GHz DSM2 Spread-Spectrum transmitter/receiver. Spread-Spectrum means that it scans for an open channel to prevent interference with other RC planes. This plane incorporates just 3-channels (elevator, rudder & throttle), but the transmitter & receiver have spare unused channels intended for ailerons and landing gear. The main wings are easily detachable for transport. This plane can fly under propeller power for about a 1/2-hour but can glide for hours on thermals. The propeller folds back when the engine is shut off for soaring. This plane does not have landing gear (they can probably be added); it is intended to be hand-launched. I found that it only takes about 1/4 throttle to hand-launch and glide, then 1/2 throttle to climb quickly to a few hundred feet. You know you've found a thermal when you're cruising at 1/4 throttle but it starts to rise quickly like it's on an elevator. Full-throttle is only needed for high speeds and loops. I botched my first attempt at a loop; instead I got inverted and did a nose-dive into the ground. The wings & tail were undamaged but the front part of the styrofoam fuselage broke into 6 separate pieces. The propeller & engine dug 4 inches into the ground and broke off. The propeller folded back and was undamaged. I thought the plane was totaled, but after a few hours of taping with clear packaging tape, the plane looked and worked like new!
Video of Ed looping and crashing the Radian Sailplane (1-5-09).
Video of Ed flying and landing the Radian Sailplane (1-7-09).
Video advertisement for the Radian Sailplane (12-1-08).
Using a servo to drop a balsa glider from Radian (1-13-09).
I found that I could easily make a drop module for this plane by plugging a servo (available at hobby stores) into the spare landing gear output on the receiver. I simply strap the servo to the side of the fuselage with a piece of string and tape. When the landing gear switch on the transmitter is thrown, the servo turns 90 degrees and releases the end of a rubber band that holds the payload. You can drop anything; parachutes, streamers, toy gliders. The Guillow "Jetfire" balsa wood glider ($2.49) glides very nicely. I like dropping them and loosing them in thermals. They sometimes go up & up and disappear into the sky! The Radian has lots of lifting capacity. On 1-13-09, I dropped an Air Hogs Aero Ace RC jet (like the orange one pictured at the top of this WEB page). My friend Jeff flew the Aero Ace back while I flew the Radian.
Aerial Photography from Radian Sailplane:
Photo looking down at Ed and Jeff from Radian Sailplane at Allen's Meadow, Wilton CT (3-13-09).
In order to use a spare channel on the Radian receiver to snap a picture, you must convert the pulse-width modulated servo output signal to an on/off signal. An "electronic switch" purchased from www.hansenhobbies.com will do just that. I purchased the 6-amp switch with plans to fire a rocket with an Estes igniter, but instead used it to take pictures. The output of the electronic switch should be connected to the shutter button on the camera and ground on the plane battery should be connected to ground on the camera. The plus (+) side of the plane battery should not be connected to the camera because the camera's battery powers the shutter circuit. I used the same $9 digital clipshot camera that I used with the Flying Eagle plane.
8-25-09: The Parkzone "F4U Corsair" World War II Fighter.
Before:
After:
This is the new Parkzone "F4U Corsair" World War II fighter plane sold by Hobbytown USA for $299. It has a 44-inch wingspan and is "Ready-To-Fly" (RTF) out of the box. The wings & body are just styrofoam but they are finely detailed. Like the Radian, it has a Lipo battery, brushless motor and a 2.4GHz DSM2 Spread-Spectrum transmitter/receiver (never interferes with other planes). This plane has 4-channels (elevator, ailerons, rudder & throttle). The transmitter & receiver have a spare unused channel intended for landing gear that can be used for a drop module as shown above for the Radian. This plane has fixed front landing gear and a stearable tail wheel. This plane is fully aerobatic. I've been doing loops and rolls. This plane cruises a lot faster than my other planes and can quickly go out of sight. On my first day flying it, I let it go too far out, I had difficulty seeing it and had a bad crash. The main wing broke off and the fuselage broke in half. Fortunately, styrofoam planes are easy to repair. After 2 hours with 5-minute epoxy, the plane was as good as new.
This is the one and only real "Marine's Dream" F4U Corsair that flew with 4 other F4U's at the "Wings & Wheels" Air Show at Sikorsky Airport on 5-29-10. The Parkzone F4U RC plane was modeled after this very plane. The F4U was manufactured in Connecticut by Vought and Sikorsky during World War II and is now the Connecticut State plane.
Video advertisement for the "Wings & Wheels" Air Show.
Video of F4U's flying at the "Wings & Wheels" Air Show (5-29-10).
8-31-09: The Super Cub with Pontoons.
I purchased the GWS Model 535 Float Set (pontoons) and attached them to the bottom of the Super Cub with elastic bands. The plane did not have enough power to take off from water (Lake Candlewood) but it flew okay when tossed in the air and landed on water very nicely. It took full throttle to keep the plane in the air with the added weight of pontoons. I saw that there was a new version of the Super Cub with Lipo batteries (instead of nickel-metal-hydride) so I asked at the hobby store if it was possible to upgrade my plane. I was told "yes" as long as I removed the suitcase jumper on the Super Cub's receiver. Removing the jumper raises the battery cutout voltage to protect the higher-voltage (11.1 VDC) Lipo battery from damage due to excessive discharge. On 9-7-09 I fitted the Super Cub with the 11 VDC 1300 ma Lipo battery from the Parkzone Radian and the plane had enough power to take off from water, perform loops in the air and land on water.
On 1-8-10, I attached a tiny video camera to the side of the Super Cub. This camera only weighs 0.65 ounces. I purchased the video camera for $29.70 from the following WEB site: www.hobbypartz.com . It requires a $9.99 micro SD memory card (not included) that I purchased at Walmart. This 2 gigabyte memory card can record up to 30 minutes of video & audio. I am very satisfied with the quality of this camera. It has a 1.9 megapixel CCD that takes 1600 x 1200 still photos and 640 x 480 videos. I downloaded a good freeware video editor program called Avidemux from www.cnet.com. The following flight videos were recorded at Allen's Meadow in Wilton Connecticut. I took off and landed the Super Cub with pontoons because the ground was snow covered.
Super Cub flight as seen from video camera mounted on side of fuselage (1-8-10).
Dave's E-flight Apprentice flight as seen from video camera mounted on wing (1-13-10).
Firing missile (bottle rocket) from Radian Sailplane as seen from onboard video camera (2-4-10).
There is no easy way to take aerial 1600 x 1200 photos from the video camera that I purchased from hobbypartz.com because the shutter button would have to be pushed during the flight. Nice 640 x 480 photos, however, can be extracted from the video. I created the photo of Wilton High School below from the E-flight Apprentice video by selecting "Edit" and "Copy" from the Quicktime Video Player, then "Edit" and "Paste" in the Paintshop Pro photo editing program. The missile firing photo below was created from a free video editor program called Avidemux that I downloaded from www.cnet.com.
Firing missile (bottle rocket) from Radian Sailplane (2-4-10):
View of Wilton High School from Dave's plane over Allen's Meadow (1-13-10):
The video camera can be mounted to the wing away from the propeller with an ice cream stick, stiff wire and elastic bands.
The Super Cub can take off and land on snow with these homemade styrofoam skis (2-12-10).
Video of Super Cub on skis (2-12-10).
The Radian sailplane can take off and land with these homemade wheels (2-15-10).
Jeff & I spent our lunch break flying RC planes at Allen's Meadow on 5-5-11. This photo was taken by Tony Loomis (a friend we often see at the park) using a camera mounted to his plane.
This is a photo from Tony's camera plane flying over Allen's Meadow looking south at Wilton High School and Route 7. You can see Long Island Sound in the distance.
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Video from Ed's Radian RC plane flying over beach at Wildwood Crest, NJ (8-11-11).
Flying an RC plane over the beach at the Jersey Shore next to the Regal Plaza Hotel in Wildwood Crest, NJ. on 8-11-11. The plane is a Parkzone Radian with a tiny video camera mounted to the wing and 5-inch diameter wheels added for take-off and landing. The camera was purchased on line at hobbypartz.com.
View of the Regal Plaza Hotel from Ed's Parkzone Radian remote control plane (08-15-11).
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Video from Ed's Radian RC plane dropping a parachute at Allen's Meadow, Wilton, CT (1-31-12).
This is a demo of my Parkzone Radian RC plane dropping a parachute. The plane was purchased at Hobbytown USA for $250. I added landing gear made of piano wire and half-inch thick Styrofoam traced from a CD disk. The parachute is made from garbage bag plastic rubbed with an anti-static Bounty sheet. String is attached to the plastic with duct tape. The parachutist is a 6-inch plastic toy soldier purchased at a dollar store. A standard RC servo is taped to the side of the plane and is wired to the spare landing gear output on the receiver. When the servo is commanded to turn, an elastic band that holds the parachute slips off the servo cam and releases the parachute. Video taken at Allen's Meadow Park in Wilton, CT on 1-31-12.
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Video from Ed's Radian RC plane flying over Rexhame Beach, Marshfield, MA (4-22-12).
Aerial photo from Ed's RC plane looking north over Rexhame Beach (4-22-12).
 Rexhame Beach, Marshfield, MA.jpg)
Aerial photo of cottage at Rexhame beach (4-22-12).
 Beach Cottage at 12A Parker St.jpg)
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Video from Ed's Radian RC plane flying over Dolphins at Diamond Beach, Wildwood Crest, NJ (8-11-14).
Aerial photo from Ed's RC plane looking down at Dolphins just off Diamond Beach (8-11-14).
The images from the plane are over-exposed and low quality, but the Dolphins are visible.
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I took the following video of Dolphins at the beach at the Regal Plaza Hotel in Wildwood Crest New Jersey on Friday morning July 28, 2017.
Drone video of Dolphins swimming near the beach (7-28-17).
Aerial video from Ed's drone over Sunset Beach on July 26, 2017.
Ed flew his new quadcopter drone at Amy's house July 8, 2017.
The Promark P70-VR-3D Drone.
