Building an fpv plane

[FDS]

You will find that people here seldom agree on gear unless it’s something really outstanding, even then some won’t use it just because!
5km flights are illegal in most of Europe. To reach that far with an FPV signal you are going to need an 800mw VTX and your plane will have to be capable of autonomous flight, using iNav or Ardupilot and you will need a long range radio set up like the TBS Crossfire. Doing flights like that safely will not be cheap.
You still need to tell us what sort of plane you are thinking of, what other gear you already own and what previous flight experience you have, then you will get more useful advice.

 

[Skiflier]

You will find that people here seldom agree on gear unless it’s something really outstanding, even then some won’t use it just because!
You still need to tell us exactly what you want out of your FPV experience, what sort of plane you are thinking of, how far you intend fly it, what other gear you already own and what previous flight experience you have, then you will get more useful advice.

I've been flying the phantom pro for a few years, decent pilot, have a good feel for it. Lost the fun ofcourse due to the lack of action. I've had tiny whoops and have flown those for a bit as well. I was aiming for a versa wing style design, with a range of about 5 kilometers if possible. They're supposed to be able to carry quite a load.

 

[Hondo76251]

I agree with FDS here, none of us can give you much more than basic idea of what certain gear will be able to do without a good idea of what you're trying to accomplish.

My question is, why 5k? A Phantom does that easy with HD video link but it does cost some $ and has limited time at distance.

If you build an FPV set for long range you jump from under 1,000 meters to 20k with a very basic setup (UHF RX/TX and good 5.8)

What specifically is the "mission" you'd like to accomplish at 5k?

 

[CarolineTyler]

You do know that a flying a plane is quite different from a DJI quadcopter? I would advice you learn line of sight flying with something much simpler before you start making an FPV plane.

 

[Skiflier]

I agree with FDS here, none of us can give you much more than basic idea of what certain gear will be able to do without a good idea of what you're trying to accomplish.

My question is, why 5k? A Phantom does that easy with HD video link but it does cost some $ and has limited time at distance.

If you build an FPV set for long range you jump from under 1,000 meters to 20k with a very basic setup (UHF RX/TX and good 5.8)

What specifically is the "mission" you'd like to accomplish at 5k?

No mission, just the feeling of being 5k away and exploring and whatnot. What is this basic setup you're speaking about that will get me 20k

 

[Skiflier]

You do know that a flying a plane is quite different from a DJI quadcopter? I would advice you learn line of sight flying with something much simpler before you start making an FPV plane.

I've flown some model planes before too, worked quite well! The ability to fly is not what I'm lacking, it's the fact that I want powerful fpv, and up until now my experience has been very bad.

 

[FDS]

If you want to do that type of flying then you are going to need a large airframe, long range radio, full flight controller and high power output VTX. None of that will be cheap.
Again, flying like that is illegal in many countries, be very sure you are either in a country where it’s legal or are comfortable breaking the law (if you live in the countryside with lots of land for example.) You should also consider the likelihood of losing your gear.
It’s like deciding to take up climbing and planning to scale the north face of the Eiger next weekend. We just want you to succeed safely.
I would look at some smaller, easier to achieve goals first, like building your first UAV and getting it to fly small missions on GPS. Then look at upgrading parts like the radio and video to go further. Painless 360 on YouTube has some good build series on this type of set up.
You could achieve this type of flight with the expensive drone you already own, just not on a windy day and not at a high speed. I am pretty sure the Phantom could manage a 3k flight on its battery.
What RC gear do you have already, aside from the Phantom?

 

[Hondo76251]

I'm not too familiar with flysky... but you can either boost the 2.4 or go to UFH... either will work, you'll have to look into the details of how to do that with your specific gear...

i'd be less worried about your ability to fly, and more about learning how to solder!

I actually had a buddy of mine with virtually ZERO RC flying experience out this weekend while I was flying my FPV hawkeye. I gave him controls multiple times but he had a heck of a time flying LOS. I put the goggles on him and he was shooting gaps FPV in minutes, even landing to change batteries with ease. Granted, he is a gamer and flicking sticks is not a new skill for him I was impressed at how natural the FPV flying can be for some people and how awkward it truly is landing a plan thats flying towards you...

The big problem is crashing... you WILL crash. One thing you learn quickly is that it can be hard to find something you've crashed FPV behind your house... a whole new challenge to find it 2 miles away. I've been on this ranch my whole life, 5th generation to do so. I know the surrounding 100 square miles like the back of my hand... and despite that, 3 years ago I hung a coat on a tree while moving cows horseback and I've not seen that tree since... If you land in a tree on some BLM spread you've never seen from the ground in your life... you'll never find it.

Thats how these FPV setup keep expanding... sure a simple UHF and 5.8 can go for miles, but what if you have gear failure? what if your goggles battery die unexpectedly? Then you need step up to something with GPS and RTH. Thats why I've got Pixhawk...

but, like I said before, my best long range FPV can't beat my Phantom! Sure I can get more distance, more time aloft, but without that HD video link (I literally can read cows brands and ear tags from MILES away) whats the point?

All this rambling brings me back around to the Camera/TX combo...

If all you really want to do is haul A$$ through some obstacles with a fixed wing, build it small, make it durable, keep it close, and fly a combo... if you want to get good video from 2 miles away, fly a phantom... if you want to see how far you can go just for kicks and giggles, UHF and long range video with a go pro mounted somewhere so when (if) you find it you will have good 4k video of whatever it did while you were looking through the 1000 TVL camera...

**EDIT: Fly a GOOD combo** (since you guys were picking on the combos earlier! )

 

[Hondo76251]

I am pretty sure the Phantom could manage a 3k flight on its battery...

And then some...

 

[FDS]

Nice! I don’t own one and we can’t make flights like that here, even in open countryside. Interesting to see how far it can go.

 

[Skiflier]

If you want to do that type of flying then you are going to need a large airframe, long range radio, full flight controller and high power output VTX. None of that will be cheap.
Again, flying like that is illegal in many countries, be very sure you are either in a country where it’s legal or are comfortable breaking the law (if you live in the countryside with lots of land for example.) You should also consider the likelihood of losing your gear.
It’s like deciding to take up climbing and planning to scale the north face of the Eiger next weekend. We just want you to succeed safely.
I would look at some smaller, easier to achieve goals first, like building your first UAV and getting it to fly small missions on GPS. Then look at upgrading parts like the radio and video to go further. Painless 360 on YouTube has some good build series on this type of set up.
You could achieve this type of flight with the expensive drone you already own, just not on a windy day and not at a high speed. I am pretty sure the Phantom could manage a 3k flight on its battery.
What RC gear do you have already, aside from the Phantom?

That's very nice of you to help me out like this . As for the gear, I've played around with the Mobius camera fpv cradle, but had no luck with it whatsoever (signal only up till about 10m) I think you're right, I'll stick with smaller scale for now, get the AIO and mess with that. Technically I should be able to get decently far with 200mw, and that should be enough for now. Will I be able to run the eachine 200mw AIO off a simple 1s? Was there some issue with the amperage draw?

 

[Skiflier]

I'm not too familiar with flysky... but you can either boost the 2.4 or go to UFH... either will work, you'll have to look into the details of how to do that with your specific gear...

i'd be less worried about your ability to fly, and more about learning how to solder!

I actually had a buddy of mine with virtually ZERO RC flying experience out this weekend while I was flying my FPV hawkeye. I gave him controls multiple times but he had a heck of a time flying LOS. I put the goggles on him and he was shooting gaps FPV in minutes, even landing to change batteries with ease. Granted, he is a gamer and flicking sticks is not a new skill for him I was impressed at how natural the FPV flying can be for some people and how awkward it truly is landing a plan thats flying towards you...

The big problem is crashing... you WILL crash. One thing you learn quickly is that it can be hard to find something you've crashed FPV behind your house... a whole new challenge to find it 2 miles away. I've been on this ranch my whole life, 5th generation to do so. I know the surrounding 100 square miles like the back of my hand... and despite that, 3 years ago I hung a coat on a tree while moving cows horseback and I've not seen that tree since... If you land in a tree on some BLM spread you've never seen from the ground in your life... you'll never find it.

Thats how these FPV setup keep expanding... sure a simple UHF and 5.8 can go for miles, but what if you have gear failure? what if your goggles battery die unexpectedly? Then you need step up to something with GPS and RTH. Thats why I've got Pixhawk...

but, like I said before, my best long range FPV can't beat my Phantom! Sure I can get more distance, more time aloft, but without that HD video link (I literally can read cows brands and ear tags from MILES away) whats the point?

All this rambling brings me back around to the Camera/TX combo...

If all you really want to do is haul A$$ through some obstacles with a fixed wing, build it small, make it durable, keep it close, and fly a combo... if you want to get good video from 2 miles away, fly a phantom... if you want to see how far you can go just for kicks and giggles, UHF and long range video with a go pro mounted somewhere so when (if) you find it you will have good 4k video of whatever it did while you were looking through the 1000 TVL camera...

**EDIT: Fly a GOOD combo** (since you guys were picking on the combos earlier! )

Hahahha I happen to be a gamer as well as a hobby pilot I'd like to fly a plane, medium size, just get some experience flying them, and building them for that matter! Not too worried about losing my gear, I'm very familiar with the countryside around, would be able to find it I'm pretty sure. No grass or anything there xD

 

[FDS]

Just wire in a cheap 5v Bec, like this one to your plane or get a basic RTF wing or plane with everything in it. If you don’t have a transmitter already then something like the Flysky FS6I will get you airborne and a PNP set up will just need the receiver plugging in and a battery to get you going.
Something like the Zohd Nano Talon PNP is ideal, plus that airframe would take other components to introduce more automated functions later. It’s not super long range but is flexible and easy to set up. It has a gyro included and can be got with GPS set up already.
The larger GT Rebel is on Banggood in stock and ready to go as well.

 

[Skiflier]

Alright, sounds perfect. So I connect the BEC to a battery and the other end to the AIO fpv camera?

 

[Hondo76251]

Since my hawkeye is a twin I have one esc powering the receiver (so all 3 wires of the servo lead run to the receiver, and + (-) run to battery

Then I use the other esc to power the camera... Its easy to see here because I added the camera lead later... The 2nd esc only needs to receive signal from the receiver since the receiver is already getting power from the first esc...

So both of the esc's battery power input wires are soldered into a single lead to get 2s power to the esc's...

If you only have one esc the best route is to have a separate stand alone BEC like FDS has linked so you get good clean power to the camera.

I'd still suggest the AIO camera for a first build just for ease of installation... Then once you've got that down, a separate video TX with 800mw is easy, just more soldering!

 

[Hondo76251]

Nice! I don’t own one and we can’t make flights like that here, even in open countryside. Interesting to see how far it can go.

Your countryside and mine might differ some! Lol
in that sat image I would be the only human there! (And no structures either) and that entire flight doesn't leave my property...

That image is from quite a while ago, kinda before the fpv drone thing was a hot button issue... Even then, its not exactly "illegal" here (YET) just more of a strong suggestion that you shouldn't it is a shame that there really are so many dumb people that they feel the need to attempt regulation on one of the safest flight related hobbies available... I mean... People jump off cliffs with glorified kites on their backs for gosh sake!

 

[FDS]

Man, those wide open spaces are REALLY wide! There’s not many places in the whole of Europe like that, let alone our tiny, crowded little island.
You connect the Bec to the FLIGHT BATTERY, don’t go carrying two packs, it’s much easier to run everything off one.

 

[Hondo76251]

Yeah, I noticed europe is certainly a different view from air than the US. I've been to Germany and Spain (for about 6 hours each lol) so most of my time "in Europe" was looking at it from thr air... I can only imagine what your island is like!

 

[Skiflier]

Man, those wide open spaces are REALLY wide! There’s not many places in the whole of Europe like that, let alone our tiny, crowded little island.
You connect the Bec to the FLIGHT BATTERY, don’t go carrying two packs, it’s much easier to run everything off one.

Alright I thought so, there perfect seeing as I have a 3000 mAh one xD

 

[FDS]

The camera and VTX don’t draw massive current. That battery would work in the Talon. I tend to buy a battery to suit the plane, not the other way around.
@Hondo76251 Large uk open spaces would easily fit in your ranch!