Radio control nuts

[Jimmy the Heater]

Originally Posted by nadams

Got my motor/esc situation figured out... Was a real RTFM moment... haven't had one of those in a while

Turns out, the receiver plug labeled Batt/CH5 is not the correct place to plug the ESC in... The correct place would be CH2, which is right next to the two plugs marked CH1, which are for the steering servos. CH3 and 4 are marked as not used in the manual, and Batt/CH5 is in case you're running an ESC without a built-in BEC.

Oops.

Yup that will do it :) Glad you got it figured out tho and are back to running

[Beez]

Beautiful sailboat Guzz!

[Saget]

Here's a screen grab of a friend's house I shot the other day, using the tricopter I posted a few pages back.



Lots of friends have said, "Wow, that's really cool! I bet people would pay for that!"

Sorry if this is 205, but...

It got me to thinking and searching on the web, without a whole lot of luck. It seems the FAA has no problem with hobbyists doing this sort of thing, but wants to get involved whenever money changes hands. Now I can see them wanting to regulate UAV's the size of a Cessna (or larger) operating from airports and using the same airspace as commercial flights. But an R/C toy hovering at most 100 feet off the ground in front of a house?

I can understand that there must be guidelines for safety and privacy. I get that. But I don't think requiring a commercial pilot's license to fly an R/C heli is the right answer.

Is anyone out there doing R/C aerial photography for hire? What kind of help or hindrance have you found with the FAA or local authorities? What kind of permits or insurance do you need?

[DakarNick]

Nice place and nice phot, Saget. Is that a tree farm? Does the shop belong to him or the farm? Or is everything his?

I can't say personally, but a friend of mine who works at the LHS started doing part-time quadcopter flying with a video and FLIR camera for a local fire investigation service. I'll see if I can dig up the news clip.

I can ask him next time I see him.

In other news, I hope to be getting one of these next. 48.8" span

[Saget]

Originally Posted by DakarNick

Nice place and nice phot, Saget. Is that a tree farm? Does the shop belong to him or the farm? Or is everything his?

I can't say personally, but a friend of mine who works at the LHS started doing part-time quadcopter flying with a video and FLIR camera for a local fire investigation service. I'll see if I can dig up the news clip.

I can ask him next time I see him.

Thanks, I'd appreciate whatever info you can dig up.

The home & shop you see in the photo belongs to the friend, as do all the surrounding crops. Those are all hops. If you've ever partaken of an Anhueser-Busch product, you've probably enjoyed the fruits of his labor!

[DakarNick]

Originally Posted by Saget

Thanks, I'd appreciate whatever info you can dig up.

The home & shop you see in the photo belongs to the friend, as do all the surrounding crops. Those are all hops. If you've ever partaken of an Anhueser-Busch product, you've probably enjoyed the fruits of his labor!

I sure haven't. Never liked the taste of beer But hops makes sense! That's cool, I guess I didn't look very close! How many acres is that?

I can't find the video but I'll be sure to get some info from him next time I am at the hobby shop.

[Saget]

Originally Posted by DakarNick

I sure haven't. Never liked the taste of beer But hops makes sense! That's cool, I guess I didn't look very close! How many acres is that?

I can't find the video but I'll be sure to get some info from him next time I am at the hobby shop.

Thanks, I'd like to see that if you can find it.

I don't know how many acres the friend has. LOTS. Probably several thousand altogether. I do know a neighbor of his has something like 20,000! Nearly all of it becomes Budweiser.

[AerialCameras]

Originally Posted by Saget

Sorry if this is 205, but...

It got me to thinking and searching on the web, without a whole lot of luck. It seems the FAA has no problem with hobbyists doing this sort of thing, but wants to get involved whenever money changes hands. Now I can see them wanting to regulate UAV's the size of a Cessna (or larger) operating from airports and using the same airspace as commercial flights. But an R/C toy hovering at most 100 feet off the ground in front of a house?

I can understand that there must be guidelines for safety and privacy. I get that. But I don't think requiring a commercial pilot's license to fly an R/C heli is the right answer.

Is anyone out there doing R/C aerial photography for hire? What kind of help or hindrance have you found with the FAA or local authorities? What kind of permits or insurance do you need?

The privacy issue is simple. If a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, you are not allowed to make an image, transmit, or distribute it of whatever object or activity they deem private. Meaning if some gal is sunbathing nekid in her back yard with high fences, you can't peep in with your copter. Now if same woman is on a golf course, by all means take a pic and link it.

As for the FAA, they're worried about more than your r/c aircraft running into another aircraft. If you lose control or communication with your aircraft , how will the aircraft be recovered and how will the loss of control affect the safety of people on the ground? In a nutshell, does your aircraft have an autonmous system that alllows it to land safely without causing injury or property damage? If your aircraft can pose a risk to people or property, then the FAA has a valid concern. Mostly they're looking at weight, operating altitude, and operating area. This is where liability insurance comes up and licensing can make sense. If you're flying over an unpopulated corn field no one is going to stress. On the other hand If your buzzing over the high school football game and the batteries in your transmitter go dead or your aircraft dumps an engine, then be ready to answer some questions. How they evolve to deal with all the new kids hoping to get a gov contract is anybody's guess. But there's good reasons most of the big players are out in the deserts for r&d. My opinion would be to not fly over populations without consent and liability insurance.
In my world with a real helicopter, whoever the production company is that hires us is required to add us to their production insurance usually anywhere from $10-15 million. Then there are film permits but that's another can of worms and probably won't apply to someone doing real estate or corporate video.

In a previous life pre Sept. 11, I dealt successfully with the FAA flying high altitude aerostats over populations. All you need to do is answer their "what if" questions and notify them of your intentions and you'll find they aren't so bad. I was required to gain clearance if I intended to operate within five miles of a controlled airspace. Outside five miles I just had to notify of intend operations. Basically that meant my letter to the local ATC would be either, "I would like your permission to operate in this area or, I am operating in this area."

I can't speak for r/c planes or copters, but for our aerostat applications, anything over 150 feet is where the FAA got involved, and we typically operated at 500 to 1500 and carried about one hundred pounds of camera. Check out FARs part 101 regarding balloons, kites and rockets. It will give you an idea of where they're coming from.

http://www.flightsimaviation.com/dat.../part_101.html

[Saget]

Thank you for taking the time to write that, it's very informative. I think we're talking apples & oranges here, but it's still great info. You bring up some excellent points, especially with regard to safety.

I can understand why you would need millions of dollars worth of insurance to operate a full-scale heli over a populated area. Makes perfect sense considering the potential for damage or even loss of life should something go wrong. Likewise, I can see why the FAA would need to know when you have a large balloon with 100 lbs. of camera gear tethered to 1500 feet of cable. You've clearly entered controlled airspace, and that much weight falling from the sky could do considerable damage.

The difference here is that my heli is under 3 lbs including camera, and can only go maybe 30 mph. The damage potential isn't much more than perhaps a broken window. I'd be flying well below controlled airspace, so the odds of encountering other air traffic are very low.

The best info I've found so far comes directly from the FAA: http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/uas/uas_faq/

If I'm reading it right, they're not concerned with recreational use of unmanned systems, which is what I've been doing. But for commercial use they would require an Experimental Aircraft Certificate AND the operator has to be a licensed pilot.

Seriously??? Although not current, I'm a private pilot so that part doesn't bug me too much. But an experimental airworthiness certificate for my battery powered toy helicopter? The same as for a Lancair or Kitfox or any other homebuilt airplane meant to carry real live people on board? Just so I can ask $50 for taking photos of someone's house? Seems like waaaay overkill. There must be some kind of in-between.

I know there are people out there doing it, I just don't know how they're doing it LEGALLY. Maybe they're not.

[Saget]

Originally Posted by DakarNick

In other news, I hope to be getting one of these next. 48.8" span

Sweet looking Sbach. Looks like it even has an airfoil to the wing instead of a flat plank. Where's that one come from???

[FPGT72]

The other area the goverment is having issues with is this first person flying, and VHF radios that let you fly your plane 5 miles from where you are.

I think that this is where your RC toy stops being a toy and starts being a baby brother to a predator.

I also know there is some issues with some fast moving models, I am not sure where they are going to draw the line, but I have foam EDF planes that hit 70mph with ease.

I agree there is room for some worry here, but I am not sure what the answer is, but getting the goverments nose in the sale of every park zone corsair is going to KILL the entire hobby in the us.

[DakarNick]

Originally Posted by Saget

Sweet looking Sbach. Looks like it even has an airfoil to the wing instead of a flat plank. Where's that one come from???

Usually it has the company website or name on the wing! But this one doesn't. It is an RC Factory brand sold by www.twistedhobbys.com

http://www.twistedhobbys.com/RCF-48-...12m-Rs-352.htm

[Buzzbomber]

Saget,
Have you checked out the remote control aerial photography association?
http://www.rcapa.net/

[Saget]

Originally Posted by Buzzbomber

Saget,
Have you checked out the remote control aerial photography association?
http://www.rcapa.net/

Never heard of it, thanks!!!

[FPGT72]

This guy is finally on the way from HobbyKing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYcPU...feature=relmfu

I have been looking for another plane along the lines of my original GWS pico Tiger Moth and I think this little plane will fit the bill. A nice relaxing in close slow flyer....I think it will be great fun.