Building an fpv plane

[Skiflier]

Hey everyone,
So I was thinking about building a fixed wing style plane, and throwing some fpv on there. Going for a monowing, single motor, two flaps (elevon) with the parts from banggood shown below in the pics. Could you guys let me know if everything will work this way? Do I need something else, and are there any compatability issues or something? Thanks!
I'll be using it with a flysky i6 Rx tx combo.

 

[CarolineTyler]

Why to two very different capacities of batteries? Before to pick the individual parts you need to first decide on an air-frame. What's it's load capacity, its thrust requirements? What range are you planning on doing FPV to as this will greatly determine your choice of radio transmitters and receiver and your video transmission system. In short - define what you want to achieve, and that will inform you as to the parts you will need to purchase.

 

[Skiflier]

Why to two very different capacities of batteries? Before to pick the individual parts you need to first decide on an air-frame. What's it's load capacity, its thrust requirements? What range are you planning on doing FPV to as this will greatly determine your choice of radio transmitters and receiver and your video transmission system. In short - define what you want to achieve, and that will inform you as to the parts you will need to purchase.

The smaller battery would be for the VTX. I'm trying to get decently long range, about 2-3 km. I don't know what size I'd need, enough to carry the 3500 mAh battery and all the components xD

 

[CarolineTyler]

The smaller battery would be for the VTX. I'm trying to get decently long range, about 2-3 km. I don't know what size I'd need, enough to carry the 3500 mAh battery and all the components xD

Well, you don't need a separate battery for that, it can run off the one main battery.

 

[CarolineTyler]

I would suggest then you look at an air-frame like the mini talon. It easily carries s 4-5000mAh battery and is designed for FPV.
https://www.banggood.com/X-uav-Mini...p-983331.html?rmmds=category&cur_warehouse=CN
If you're planning on scratch building one - it could help you in the design.

 

[Hondo76251]

I'd suggest this for a first build...

https://www.banggood.com/Aomway-HB2...-p-1069179.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN

Here's a video of a few FPV flights with a little chuck glider conversion using a similar setup...

The range is pretty good on the 200mw version. I've got a 600mw camera/transmitter combo but I haven't used it yet to know if its much better.

Its pretty simple to run a lead from your ESC to get 5v to the camera. You don't want straight battery power as most cameras don't like more than 5 volts and it can also give you some interference in the video.

If you want quick and dirty, I've also run this camera off of a separate 1s drone battery Velcro'd to the nose! works if you want to throw it on a model you haven't built for dedicated FPV flying...

 

[Skiflier]

I'd suggest this for a first build...

https://www.banggood.com/Aomway-HB2...-p-1069179.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN

Here's a video of a few FPV flights with a little chuck glider conversion using a similar setup...

The range is pretty good on the 200mw version. I've got a 600mw camera/transmitter combo but I haven't used it yet to know if its much better.

Its pretty simple to run a lead from your ESC to get 5v to the camera. You don't want straight battery power as most cameras don't like more than 5 volts and it can also give you some interference in the video.

If you want quick and dirty, I've also run this camera off of a separate 1s drone battery Velcro'd to the nose! works if you want to throw it on a model you haven't built for dedicated FPV flying...

Thanks a lot for all the advice! What kind of range are we talking about? Also, won't I need the 5v from the esc to power the servos?

 

[Skiflier]

Well, you don't need a separate battery for that, it can run off the one main battery.

Really? I thought one wasn't supposed to do that? Also, how would I go about setting that up? I'd have to solder the power input of the camera to the ESC's xt60 right?

 

[Hondo76251]

Thanks a lot for all the advice! What kind of range are we talking about? Also, won't I need the 5v from the esc to power the servos?

Most ESC will have a BEC with sufficient amps to run servos and a camera.

A 200mw transmitter with a decent antenna will go farther than your transmitter under most conditions... Which is not always a good thing.

If you're looking at long range FPV (anything much farther than LOS) that's a whole different animal... You'll want a UHF transmitter, some kind of GPS autopilot/stabilizer (preferably with RTH)

I'd start with something simple and work your way up... Hard to start at top, only way to go from there is down!

 

[FDS]

Also remember flying beyond line of sight is ILLEGAL in many countries, check your local laws before buying stuff for that. It is also illegal in some places to fly without a line of sight spotter when doing FPV.
Watch some build videos, Painless 360 on YouTube has lots, they will show you how to set up the components if you want autonomy.

 

[FoamyDM]

The only time I did it successfully. It went way behind me, and I lost signal. It came back long and short enough for me to see the simple soarer tumbling... And that I didn't have control.

I lost the whole kit and caboodle

Man it was awesome!

 

[Skiflier]

I'd suggest this for a first build...

https://www.banggood.com/Aomway-HB2...-p-1069179.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN

Here's a video of a few FPV flights with a little chuck glider conversion using a similar setup...

The range is pretty good on the 200mw version. I've got a 600mw camera/transmitter combo but I haven't used it yet to know if its much better.

Its pretty simple to run a lead from your ESC to get 5v to the camera. You don't want straight battery power as most cameras don't like more than 5 volts and it can also give you some interference in the video.

If you want quick and dirty, I've also run this camera off of a separate 1s drone battery Velcro'd to the nose! works if you want to throw it on a model you haven't built for dedicated FPV flying...

Would this work better?

Most ESC will have a BEC with sufficient amps to run servos and a camera.

A 200mw transmitter with a decent antenna will go farther than your transmitter under most conditions... Which is not always a good thing.

If you're looking at long range FPV (anything much farther than LOS) that's a whole different animal... You'll want a UHF transmitter, some kind of GPS autopilot/stabilizer (preferably with RTH)

I'd start with something simple and work your way up... Hard to start at top, only way to go from there is down!

All very sensible sounding to me xD so what you're saying is my camera and transmitter would run off my esc too? But how would I connect that? With the Rx?

 

[Skiflier]

The only time I did it successfully. It went way behind me, and I lost signal. It came back long and short enough for me to see the simple soarer tumbling... And that I didn't have control.

I lost the whole kit and caboodle

Man it was awesome!

Lmao xD

 

[FDS]

I would use a separate BEC for the camera and VTX, there’s lots of 5v smoothed ones around the 3A mark as well as some set up to plug into the balance lead on the battery. You just run two wires from the main batteryblead to the Bec if you go that route, then wires out with the correct plugs on.
You are getting ahead of yourself here. I would decide exactly what you want to do before going further.
What exactly are you trying to do? If you just want a camera on the front of a regular LOS flyer then simply buy an all in one camera/VTX with a 50-200mw output, which will plug into a servo output, just using the 5v and the ground pins of the servo plug. They can then be put on the nose or on top of the wings or the tail, small, light and effective, plus cheap.

 

[Skiflier]

I would use a separate BEC for the camera and VTX, there’s lots of 5v smoothed ones around the 3A mark as well as some set up to plug into the balance lead on the battery. You just run two wires from the main batteryblead to the Bec if you go that route, then wires out with the correct plugs on.
You are getting ahead of yourself here. I would decide exactly what you want to do before going further.
What exactly are you trying to do? If you just want a camera on the front of a regular LOS flyer then simply buy an all in one camera/VTX with a 50-200mw output, which will plug into a servo output, just using the 5v and the ground pins of the servo plug. They can then be put on the nose or on top of the wings or the tail, small, light and effective, plus cheap.

Okay, I think I'll do that for now. What kind of range can I expect from a 200 mw all in one? Could you link me one which would plug in directly to the rx? I'd be super grateful (and already am, thanks again)

 

[Skiflier]

Okay, I think I'll do that for now. What kind of range can I expect from a 200 mw all in one? Could you link me one which would plug in directly to the rx? I'd be super grateful (and already am, thanks again)

Hey, so I think I would settle on this one here; could I hook this up to the servo output of my Rx so it gets smooth esc power? Would that make a difference?

 

[PsyBorg]

Do yourself a favor. Dont cheap out on fpv gear. If you cant see you cant fly. End of story, end of plane, end of money spent.

Forget all in ones all together. They are poorly made, poorly tuned, and their actual power vs rated power are not even in the same time zones.

If you fly mico quads or park flyer planes they are ok. Do not trust an aio more then 100 yards or so away no matter what power is set.

Second do not plug any video gear into a receiver unless you have an in line filter specifically made for video gear. Servos are insanely noisy and the current fluctuations will kill video electronics in short time.

 

[sprzout]

Do yourself a favor. Dont cheap out on fpv gear. If you cant see you cant fly. End of story, end of plane, end of money spent.

Forget all in ones all together. They are poorly made, poorly tuned, and their actual power vs rated power are not even in the same time zones.

If you fly mico quads or park flyer planes they are ok. Do not trust an aio more then 100 yards or so away no matter what power is set.

Second do not plug any video gear into a receiver unless you have an in line filter specifically made for video gear. Servos are insanely noisy and the current fluctuations will kill video electronics in short time.

Agreed. I fly my little micro drone at the baseball park across the street from me on occasion, and I'm lucky to get from the outfield to home plate without having spotty signal. That's maybe 150-200 feet? I mean, it's fine if you're going to fly around your house, or if you're going to do some simple indoor racing (we've actually got several breweries here in San Diego that are allowing drone pilots to come in and race TinyWhoop/Acrobee/Inductrix quadcopters around; it brings people in to watch, and they're flying in small courses with relatively low speeds), but if you're looking for anything with any sort of distance further than that, go for something better than an all in one. You'll lose signal and it'll end up in the dirt or worse.

 

[Hondo76251]

You guys are awful hard on the all in one camera/TX!

Ive got a handful of them, some are much better than others, ill give ya that!

Seems like the ones with 200mw and a cloverleaf are viable for the backyard proximity flying I like to do. They have a range of about 1,000 m LOS or about 6 pine trees deep

I have a dragon link/pixhawk/800mw 5.8 (and 1.3 ive toyed with) and you can get some serious range with it (actually have a build video series ive been editing with a dragonlink micro RX in one of my hawkeyes) but i have more fun and fly my little all in one units way more...

Ive tried to build a good fixed wing setup to compete with my Phantom 3 but I can honestly say i haven't come close. I use the phantom to check cows/fence/water on the ranch. Ive moddified the antenna so I get miles of range (ive had it over 4) and I'm only limited by battery in my range...

It all depends on what you're trying to do... Or probably more accurately, how much you're willing to spend to do it!

 

[Skiflier]

You guys are awful hard on the all in one camera/TX!

Ive got a handful of them, some are much better than others, ill give ya that!

Seems like the ones with 200mw and a cloverleaf are viable for the backyard proximity flying I like to do. They have a range of about 1,000 m LOS or about 6 pine trees deep

I have a dragon link/pixhawk/800mw 5.8 (and 1.3 ive toyed with) and you can get some serious range with it (actually have a build video series ive been editing with a dragonlink micro RX in one of my hawkeyes) but i have more fun and fly my little all in one units way more...

Ive tried to build a good fixed wing setup to compete with my Phantom 3 but I can honestly say i haven't come close. I use the phantom to check cows/fence/water on the ranch. Ive moddified the antenna so I get miles of range (ive had it over 4) and I'm only limited by battery in my range...

It all depends on what you're trying to do... Or probably more accurately, how much you're willing to spend to do it!

Alright guys so I'm just seeing a lot of people saying different things xD. I'd like to keep it simple but still get about 5km range, is that somehow possible?
I'd be flying in the country side with no large structures or stuff, and it would mainly be LOS. I'd also like it as cheap as possible. Any suggestions?