Finally my RC plane hobby reached the point where the stuff start feel like final as on my drone side.
The small sub250g plane is awesome Nano Goblin, but I want some plane that I could fill with any stuff I want. After all big wings and planes Volantex Ranger 2000 shows me that this is it
Here you'll fing my solutions to get parts in. STLs of 3D printed files are listed below.
FC
I use Matek F765-wing FC that has been in many previous planes and now ended up in this Ranger. It has plenty of ports and pwm outs. I like it.
FC is mounted on top deck. FC has two camera switch, but I have three. So I added separate 3-cam PWM-switch nearby.
Cameras
Main camera on the front bottom is Foxeer Razer. I made a holder that has welded nut, for easy mount.
Step file is provided, so you can tinker it to suite your needs.
Tail camera is cheap nano camera from Banggood by Kinkkong.
Gimbal camera is Runcam Micro Eagle. Servos are analog metal gear 9g. Previously I used lighter and digital servos. But digital servos are not smooth and center point is glitching. Metal gears ensure longivity in harsh usage.
Switching schema:
- FC cam 1: main camera
- FC cam 2: cam switch
- Cam switch 1: Tail camera
- Cam switch 2: Gimbal camera
- Cam switch 3: spare
On radio I have 3-way switch.
- Pos 1: main camera
- Pos 2: tail camera
- Pos 3: gimbal camera
- OpenTX: Throttle on hold with last value and throttle stick sends data on ch11.
- iNav: Rudder centered. Yaw controls pan servo. Ch11 controls tilt servo.
On mode2 you can maneur plane with right roll/pitch stick on throttle's last value and use left yaw/throttle stick to controll gimbal.
Maybe in the future I'll try to find head tracker module.
VTX
This time I wanted to keep electronics in fuselage. So the only place for VTX antenna is above the battery. Then the antenna will be seen in mid and long range all around. Only when flying straigt above the battery would cover it and there is any ways null point in anenna too. I soldered 90 degree SMA plug to Tramp HV and mounted on a side of the fuselage. TrueRC's long version of the superb Singularity antenna stays ideally above the battery.
RX
On previous planes I had a hinged mast for TBS immortal antenna on top of the fuselage. This time I wanted to keep fuselages top part clean for mounting additional HD cameras like GoPro. Also fixed mounting onto the detacheable wing is also out of the question. Then I got an idea for quick clipping antenna on the wings leading edge with TPU holders. Crossfire nano itself is mounted inside the fuselage.
GPS
First idea was to place it inside the fuselage with provided foam part. But then I realized, that I want to put HD camera on top of the fuselage in CoG. All modern HD cameras block GPS signals just by being nearby. So gps module should go somewhere else. Tail boom. Perfect place and awesome amount of the satellites found.
Motor
Changed motor to to a bit lower KV than stock for efficient use with 4S battery.
Emergency beeper
I use emergency beeper that act as a normal beeper. But when battery is detached or dries on crash beeper starts beeping with its own battery.
Beeper is mounted on the front.
RGB lights
Winter is coming. So comes the darkness. I've added 12V RGB LED strips into the body and the wings. I can power them with separate 3S battery and control colors with remote control. Removed led controller from its case and mounted on the bottom ov the fuselage below the battery deck.
Misc
Inserted 1x3mm CF stripes into the wings leading edges to strengthen them from possible hits while landings.
Found awesome plane bag for storing and carying around.
Future additions
Pitot tube for air speed.
APC propeller.
AUW with 4S 4Ah battery is 2kg.
Photos
Part List
Show stores (8)
what is the reasoning behind having 3 cameras if you have the insta 360?
When you cruising around for long time and long distances, it's nice to change the view.
Fixed main camera is just fixed main camera.
Rear camera for overall view with a plane in the front. Like 3rd person view.
Gimbal camera on the lid allows you to look around without moving the plane itself. Why it's not a main camera, because it's detacheable and it doesn't have clear view in the front, as plane's nose is shown at the bottom of the video.
Awesome, I've been wanting to get into the plane game but haven't just yet. Looking at the AR wing Pro but part of me wants to do some sort of EDF conversion even though I know its not practical from an efficiency/weight standpoint. Do you have videos of this on your youtube channel?
Yesterday was its maiden. It was awesome. Waiting for better weather and time to fly again and shoot better dvrs from all three cameras.
On instagram I'm showing an example how camera switching works
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSmIERRoP2L/
But yes, when I get to fly on it again, I'll definately make a video of it. Also with 360° camera.
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Is your ground station setup for auto tracking? Asking as I'm really wanting to build one that tracks.
Nope, manual tracking. I'm giving up with LR flying, as nowadays rules prohibits that. And flying mid range doesn't require much directing as patch antenna takes wide angle area nicely.