Post by odam2k on Sept 17, 2008 15:27:11 GMT 1
I have been flying my HobbyZone Super Cub for about two months now, maybe once a week. It has been upgraded to brushless/LiPo/2.4Ghz etc. One of my favorite things is to attach my camera to the plane to get aerial videos. I've done this a couple times, but on August 31 I attached my MoviePix HD-DV video camera to the cub, I had carved out a nice little spot on the bottom of the plane for it to fit, and held it with some velcro.
Off I went, it was a beautiful morning, no wind, plenty of sunlight, the video was going to be great. Well, I got carried away and not only did I loose track of time, but I got too far away (I wasn't wearing my glasses!) and soon it was just a little black speck in the sky. I know that in this circumstance you can bank left or right to see which way it turns, and from that, determine if it is heading toward you or away from you. Just as I started doing this, the battery had reached its limit, and the motor cut out, and I watched it plummet to the ground. Remember, its just a small speck in the distance, so it was impossible to tell exactly how far away it was. I noted the direction, gathered all my stuff, and hopped in the car to go look for it.
I spent the next hour and a half driving and walking through subdivisions, fields, looking over and through fences into backyards. I checked trees, rooftops, everywhere... After an hour and a half I was going to go home and get my wife to come help me look for it, and on my way home, I saw it laying against a fence on the side of the road! It was a mess, but I was just glad to find it. When I got closer, I noticed that someone had ripped the wing off, and they took my battery and camera, but left the receiver, servos, etc there. I have no idea why they didnt just take the whole thing, but I guess they aren't R/C'ers.
What did I learn from this? First off, always time your flights, and second, stay within gliding distance on the field! Luckily the wing was still in good shape, but I had a new tail and fuselage sitting at home as I had already planned on replacing those.
I ended up replacing the camera since it takes such amazing videos (www.vimeo.com/odam2k)
Off I went, it was a beautiful morning, no wind, plenty of sunlight, the video was going to be great. Well, I got carried away and not only did I loose track of time, but I got too far away (I wasn't wearing my glasses!) and soon it was just a little black speck in the sky. I know that in this circumstance you can bank left or right to see which way it turns, and from that, determine if it is heading toward you or away from you. Just as I started doing this, the battery had reached its limit, and the motor cut out, and I watched it plummet to the ground. Remember, its just a small speck in the distance, so it was impossible to tell exactly how far away it was. I noted the direction, gathered all my stuff, and hopped in the car to go look for it.
I spent the next hour and a half driving and walking through subdivisions, fields, looking over and through fences into backyards. I checked trees, rooftops, everywhere... After an hour and a half I was going to go home and get my wife to come help me look for it, and on my way home, I saw it laying against a fence on the side of the road! It was a mess, but I was just glad to find it. When I got closer, I noticed that someone had ripped the wing off, and they took my battery and camera, but left the receiver, servos, etc there. I have no idea why they didnt just take the whole thing, but I guess they aren't R/C'ers.
What did I learn from this? First off, always time your flights, and second, stay within gliding distance on the field! Luckily the wing was still in good shape, but I had a new tail and fuselage sitting at home as I had already planned on replacing those.
I ended up replacing the camera since it takes such amazing videos (www.vimeo.com/odam2k)
I feel for you on this one. I had a similar experience using the same camera. Battery died before I expected and had to glide her in. Luckily I made it. Check out my vid in the video section. It comes down fast when the battery dies. 