AMA Reacts to DOT UAS Registration Rule

AMA Reacts to DOT UAS Registration Rule

PVC Air Gates for Multi-Rotor Racing

Recently (as you can probably tell by some of my latest videos) I have gotten involved in multi-rotor racing. I noticed however, that air-gates were sometimes very expensive and other homemade types were not durable. Many places on the Internet you can find instructions for air gates made out of pool noodles. These designs work fine for a while, but after a couple of crashes, they tend to fall over and get droopy. After seeing this, I decided to create my own air gates out of PVC Pipe from my local hardware store. Here are a couple of pictures of my first design. If this works out well for racing, I will post some plans.

STATIK

dys 250- First Flight of the Day

Here is a short video of my first time flying through air gates. Unfortunately, as you can see in this video, the Go-pro I was using fell off in a crash and I was unable to capture the rest of the day's footage.

Frame: DYS 250- stock from HobbyKing-find it here
Camera: Go Pro Hero3 White edition
Battery: 2200mah 3c
Receiver: FrSky X8R 8/16ch S-BUS ACCST telemetry receiver-find it here
Transmitter: FrSky Taranis- find it here

Now on Face-book!

Like StatiK RC HERE

Sport Wing V1

I just got back from doing a test flight with a wing design I am calling the sport wing for now. Needless to say, it didn't go so well! The plane (I used the Gamma 370 made by Ares) unfortunately ended up in a tree but was quickly recovered with a pole. Although the plane crashed, I won't blame the wing design just yet as I might have messed up the center of gravity. Typically on any non swept wing, the center of gravity (CG) is about 1/3 of the wing from the front and this is where I started. the plane reacted like it was very tail heavy though, so I will continue to experiment!

STATIK

Update: 1/6/16: I tried out both wing designs last weekend and neither was very successful. They both made the plane seem sluggish in the air and tail-heavy. I will try designing anti-stall wingtips to see if this improves performance. Plans will be posted when a good formula is found!

DYS 250 flight montage

Just finished editing a video about my second 250 quad session. Enjoy!

Frame: DYS 250- stock from HobbyKing-find it here
Camera: Go Pro Hero3 White edition
Battery: 2200mah 3c
Receiver: FrSky X8R 8/16ch S-BUS ACCST telemetry receiver-find it here
Transmitter: FrSky Taranis- find it here

STATIK

What is FPV?

Many people get easily confused when I talk about FPV. It essentially is this: seeing from the cockpit of the plane. FPV  means that you are seeing what the plane is seeing through a live video link. Sound simple? It is, but many people are easily confused by it. FPV (first person view) uses video signals (we will be going over these in a couple of weeks) to allow the pilot to possibly get further range than typical line of sight pilots. Also, in my opinion, FPV flying is more fun! This will be a once a week series talking about what FPV is and how it works. Stay tuned for next Wednesday, because that is when it really starts!

WARNING

Just a quick warning: I will be changing my blog address in about a week to statikrc.blogger.com. Don't worry! I haven't stopped blogging, I am just updating my address.

STATIK

Just ordered: FrSky ACCST TARANIS X9D PLUS

I just ordered the FRSKY Taranis and I hope to be doing some reviews and tips on it soon. This will be a nice upgrade from the ORANGE T-6!

DIY tricycle landing gear

Just a quick note: I moved the DIY Tricycle landing gear post to its own page. The post was so big and in depth, I thought it would be more fitting there.  Sorry for any confusion I may have caused!

StatiK

Quick tip- immovable zip tie!

Here's a quick tip to prevent the ever present zip slips: Before you apply a zip-tie to a surface, wrap a piece of electricians tape around it first. The rubbery coating of the tape will prevent the zip tie from possibly loosening and falling off.

Quick post: GoPro testing

Here's some quick GoPro testing I did with my Bixler 2... Enjoy! 

Quick tip: securing servo extensions

 If you plan to be doing any work inside of your plane that is not easily accessible, this would be a good thing to put on your tip list. MAKE SURE to put a zip tie around the plug to prevent it from coming undone! I have had to rip apart several wing designs before I figured this trick out. First, slide the zip tie between the positive and negative wires next to the plug. (I don't usually put the tie next to the signal lead as it might mess with the signal flow)

... Pull the tie though the other side of the plug...

 ...zip it shut...

 ...pull it tight...

...and you're done!

 Quick right? Two quick things to note:  DON'T over tighten the zip tie, as this might damage the plug. Also, you might not want to cut the zip tie once you are done: you can use it to pull on instead of the wires.

STATIK

StatiK Store!!!!!!!

The StatiK RC store is now live!!! Nothing is for sale yet, but feel free to check it out and give me your feed back here.

STATIK

Being an Ambassador for the Hobby

Recently, I have noticed a lot of podcasts and YouTube videos talking about how "Idiots" are destroying our hobby. While this might be true in some cases, it seems irrelevant in others. Take this example: Johnny Nobody is flying his plane over his local park when he suddenly loses signal. The plane goes into a steep dive and smashes Mr. Big Stuff's windshield on his brand new Corvette.
Mr. Big Stuff calls up the local news agency and before you know it, Johnny Nobody is being featured in all sorts of social media: his Twitter is filling up with angry death threats and hate mail until Johnny Nobody no longer wants to be a part of the RC hobby.

 Although this example is obviously exaggerated in some areas, (the chances of hitting a corvette at the park are remarkably small...) most of it is quite real! Many times have people been "flamed" on public forums, leaving fellow modelers asking themselves if they should just quit flying altogether. It is very easy to be a "troll" on the internet because hiding behind a screen name is so easy, but being on the receiving end is terrible! As we all know, mistakes happen and planes crash for reasons we could not have known would happen, so WE, of all people, should not be the ones screaming at the others who make those same mistakes.

In this blog post, I'm not saying there is no such thing as a stupid RC pilot. There is! There are plenty of examples of  what not to do in this hobby and we don't need any more, so check your surroundings and equipment before you fly. Safety is much more important than a good flight session resulting in a crash that damages others or even yourself. If you see a fellow pilot doing irresponsible or unsafe things with his (or her) aircraft, please, by all means, tell them, but make sure you do so in a way that is respectful. Getting "in someone's face" is easy to do, especially on the internet. As FliteTest says, always try to be an ambassador for the hobby. I apologize for such a "downer" post, but I've been seeing a lot of RC trolling lately and wanted to put in my own two cents. Thanks!

STATIK

Next Review :????????

The next review product just came in the mail today! I can't tell you what is quite yet, however, because I'm still not sure if it will work out or not. I will tell you that is a quad copter and that it came from Hobby King. I will probably have the review posted by this next Wednesday, but until then, it's back to the workshop for me!

2000 Hits!

Thanks for 2000!!!

setbacks and delays

As you probably have seen in one of my previous posts, I was going to do a review of the Quanum Venture by HobbyKing. Well, I ordered it and the Venture came about four days later. It looked perfect, but apparently the HK ORANGE series does not like the DJI M-LITE flight controller. That being said, I sent the quad back to HobbyKing within the allotted thirty days for a full refund. Their support was very good and I have not had any problems so far. After I get the credit back, I will probably buy a FR-Sky Taranis and use the rest to do a review of something else. I was thinking either the HobbyKing color series 250 size race quadcopter or the DYS PNF (plug n' fly) 250 size race quad. Please tell me what you want to see reviewed in the comments section.

 DYS 250 PNF

HK Color series quad

VOTE!

What is FPV? New series!

 A lot of people keep asking me what FPV is, or what it means. Shortly, I will be coming out with a several part long series explaining the basics. Please comment on questions you may have that I should address, or things that I could explain. Thanks!

Next Review: Quanum Venture

I just ordered the Quanum Venture FPV from Hobbyking. you can expect a full review soon!

Quick tip: Securing your battery

Recently, I did some modifications to My Ares Gamma 370. Unfortunately, this resulted in the stock battery bay being rendered unusable. To fix this, I made my own way to make sure that your flight battery does not come loose in flight; some thing that would almost certainly result in a crash.
 Instead of using Velcro, I decided to instead to use rubber bands. These act as a battery door that provide a hatch to easily access the Li-Po.

Tools

For this project you will need:

• Several rubber bands
• A hot-glue gun
• Scissors (or razor)
• That's it!

Assembly

First, work the rubber bands slowly over the Fuselage of the plane untill they are stretched over the place that lacks a battery bay door

The rubber bands should be Taught and spaced evenly apart with about 3/4 inches between bands. After this step has been completed, carefully lift one rubber band and put hot glue underneath, Then press the rubber band into the glue. After the glue has dried, put hot glue on the top of the rubber band to insure that it wont fall off. 

Repeat this process untill all of the rubber bands have been glued into place.

As soon as all of the glue is THOROUGHLY dried (DO NOT RUSH THIS STEP!) cut the rubber bands where the glue is dried.

Trim as needed...

Congatulations! You're done!