UAV return to base mode with TREX 450, can we do it????

[tiranno]

Hi
with all the techno gadgets around, is it possible to make ET come home on loss of signal?

There are GPS modules available, capable of doing the navigation.
Has anybody attempted this with a TREX

I am curious

[Tonystott]

IMO, no, simply because the Trex 450 is too small to carry many gadgets. As it is, even with the light Askman AP mount, once you add a camera (which itself has to be a compromise between weight and quality) and downlink (ditto), you are pushing the boundaries, and have already lost any practical chance of autorotations, so adding any other modules is just making things too hard

[AZ ChopperCam]

I think you'd be looking at a Logo 10/500 at the very least

[Tabbytabb]

Oops, may have opened my big mouth too much.

Edited to protect the innocent. :D


Tabb

[DKTek]

Tabby, that's not fair....who did this and with what equipment? Links please.

[Tonystott]

c'mon Tabby, split yer guts on this one! :) You ARE talking about a Trex450 equipped for AP aren't you? I would expect it would be doable without the camera gear weight to also carry.

[LoopBaCK]

Where there's a will there's a way.

[ErichF]

Yeah, there is a way. I operated a couple T-Rex 450SAs so equipped this week. It just costs money to get the right components.

Look up http://www.adaptiveflight.com/index.html

Those are the machines I flew this past week. They worked very well.

[Tonystott]

Well I am impressed! Is there any pricing information available?

[ErichF]

yeah, an entire system, complete with two "Hornets" and GCS is $65K

I guess the Army is going to buy some for testing.

[AZ ChopperCam]

the problem I have with using something the size of a 450 for video is the stability of the image. I have yet to see video from a 450 that wasn't herky jerky.

[DKTek]

Agreed DJ but for its purpose, the Army doesn't care much. I'm a Wescam guy ( our mounts are on the nose of Predators, etc) and I'm really critical of video from the R/C world. Real stabilization is a work of art the smaller the mounts get. BTW, your bag of tricks are among the best. Stabilizing the horizon is always a fun task too.

I'd boot this one for production shooting.

[tiranno]

am not looking to mount a camera.
All I want is the AP part .
I like my ET to come home if I loose signal.
It misses me so much!

[tiranno]

toe that goes a long way towards what i like to try.
I think the most important part of all this is a very accurate mechanical setup.

I only had my first hover with a trex , but I could have gone to the toilet and come back to find the heli in the same spot.

the answer is definitely in absolute perfection in the mechanical setup.
the rc does not have to work hard then and the control becomes easier.

for an old fart this has been a great success. hover and walk away from it!!
Only with 0 wind..

If you want to take cameras and controlled pictures or even high resolution closeups, it is a different ballgame and you will have to spend thousands of dollars more. (well that is not my intention, but my interset others[ perverts or spies])
some $65000 will get you a guaranteed performer, that is too much for a hobby, you need to make some serios money from the venture.