Help! What makes a good FPV plane

[IcedStorm777]

So I am planning on making a twin engine FPV plane with a 30" wingspan using two 2207 2400Kv ECO Emax motors. I am hoping to make a plane that is good for FPV, i want it to have decently long flight times, be a fast plane, and be stable. I am planning on a design like the arado 234 but with 2 prop motors instead of jets. My question is what are some things that make a good FPV plane? Both physical design features and features that you just want an FPV plane to have. I am I will be documenting the build in this thread.

 

[LitterBug]

Your questions/statements are a bit vague making it tough to answer.. What do you consider a decently long flight time? 10 minutes, an hour? How fast is fast? 30 mph, 70mph? How far out do you plan to fly? What kind of radios do you have? What kind of fpv gear do you have? Are you flying in windy conditions?

I prefer a heavier fpv plane that doesn't get bumped around a bunch in the wind. Coming from FPV quads where the roll pitch and yaw are locked in and getting in to lightweight and small fpv wings was a rude, bumpy, nauseating awakening. There are days where the STRIX Nano goblin doesn't come out and I stick with the heavy and big Stratosurfer.

Cheers,
LitterBug

 

[IcedStorm777]

Your questions/statements are a bit vague making it tough to answer.. What do you consider a decently long flight time? 10 minutes, an hour? How fast is fast? 30 mph, 70mph? How far out do you plan to fly? What kind of radios do you have? What kind of fpv gear do you have?

Cheers,
LitterBug

Sorry, that was probably extremely vague. I am hoping to fly for maybe 10-15 minutes would be great but less would be ok. Maybe 50-70 MPH but less would be acceptable. I am not going for range except maybe a mile out if possible? I am hoping to put a runcam eagle with a 250mwh system, would that be possible? I use spektrum receivers with a DX6e and have Fatshark SE goggles.

 

["Corpse"]

Sorry, that was probably extremely vague. I am hoping to fly for maybe 10-15 minutes would be great but less would be ok. Maybe 50-70 MPH but less would be acceptable. I am not going for range except maybe a mile out if possible? I am hoping to put a runcam eagle with a 250mwh system, would that be possible? I use spektrum receivers with a DX6e and have Fatshark SE goggles.

You should be just fine. I put a vtx and a board cam on my Simple stick and it worked ok. I soldered on a battery connector to the vtx and had a 5v regulator feeding the camera.

 

[JasonK]

.... I am not going for range except maybe a mile out if possible? ... I use spektrum receivers with a DX6e ...

Have you range tested that setup that far? I have seen a few range tests of spektrum with some quads and IIRC, they fail safed before 1/2 mile. the test was close to the ground, so if your in the sky, it might be better, but I would definitely look into some range tests for both your TX/RX and your VTX/googles setup.

 

[Merv]

My question is what are some things that make a good FPV plane?

I agree with the others, it all depends on your goals. What types of videos do you want to create?

A good FPV plane for me may not work for you, I want a plane to survey crop fields. I want a plane that will have a top speed about 40 mph, cruise about 20 mph, at 150-200 feet high, has a 15-20 minute flight time, easy to build and repair, easy to transport, minimum setup time, hand launch & belly lander, stabilization to handle the wind, an FPV range of about 1 mile.

For me a twin boom pusher is ideal. Your goals may very.

 

[LitterBug]

How much FPV experience do you have? If you are just starting out with FPV, I would keep it very simple and fly fairly close to yourself. As you get comfortable with that, then move on to faster and farther things. I would not push that DX6e past 1/4 mile. Especially if you have no means of monitoring RSSI. Things can get away pretty quick in the wind when you are in the goggles. Also, make sure you are flying with a spotter who can keep you within Line Of Site.

My first FPV wing was the RMRC Nano Skyhunter. I have abused a few of those now, and still like to take them out with my other flyers. Thinking about throwing an AIO on my FT Tiny Trainer and getting it out to the field.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[SportyModder]

I tossed a 25mw standalone unit on top of my Consendo Advanced. I had a great time with plenty of range for myself, about a 1 mile circle from where I sat, with just my cheap spectrum goggles and dx8 G2 tx.

 

["Corpse"]

I tossed a 25mw standalone unit on top of my Consendo Advanced. I had a great time with plenty of range for myself, about a 1 mile circle from where I sat, with just my cheap spectrum goggles and dx8 G2 tx.

I need better goggles... I put mine on 1000mw and barely got a mile.

 

[LitterBug]

I need better goggles... I put mine on 1000mw and barely got a mile.

You need better ANTENNAS. More power does not necessarily equate to longer distance and can actually be disruptive with not so great antennas.

 

["Corpse"]

You need better ANTENNAS. More power does not necessarily equate to longer distance and can actually be disruptive with not so great antennas.

That's probably true. I only have a little dipole, so that's probably the cause. When I get more income I'm gonna go shopping for some Fatsharks and better antennas.

 

[Hondo76251]

I did long range fpv for a while when it was still kind of kosher, though i pretty well stick to what id call medium range now days. One of the biggest things I've come to appreciate is flight controllers. I did my longest flight with nothing more than gps so i could find my plane if it went down! Now i pretty much have at least a basic FC in almost everything.

The best platform really depends on what you want to do with it. For me, ive found that twin engines work best. Find a plane that can carry some weight as well, they always end up heavier than you think, especially when you start trying to get longer flight times.

I dont think you'll be able to get reliable range with spektrum much beyond 1/2 mile without some modifications. That is where having something with GPS and return to home will be a must. If you have your failsafe set correctly it should fly back to you if you start to lose signal.

All that being said, some of the most fun i have is building indestructible sub 250 fpv planes and blasting through the trees around my house with my kids.

 

[JasonK]

All that being said, some of the most fun i have is building indestructible sub 250 fpv planes and blasting through the trees around my house with my kids.

can't do my back yard, but my current project is at 225g AUW and I have some foam to cut off (made my electronics pod way bigger then needed and need to remove part of it to get the CG were it should be... currently nose heavy).

This is definitely the range I am shooting for myself.

 

[IcedStorm777]

How does a Matek f405 wing work? What features does it have? Will it display information like an OSD or.... Sorry for my ignorance!

 

[JasonK]

How does a Matek f405 wing work?

There is a microprocessor, an IMU unit on it, and other bits that provides the relevent hardware needs for most fixed wing situations for a flight controller

What features does it have?

Depends on what software your running on it

Will it display information like an OSD or.... Sorry for my ignorance!

It has the hardware to run an OSD, however, it will only do so if it is connected between the camera an VRX so that it can modify the video signal and running software that will do an OSD.

 

[IcedStorm777]

There is a microprocessor, an IMU unit on it, and other bits that provides the relevent hardware needs for most fixed wing situations for a flight controller

Depends on what software your running on it

It has the hardware to run an OSD, however, it will only do so if it is connected between the camera an VRX so that it can modify the video signal and running software that will do an OSD.

Cool. So does it do things like GPS controlled failsafe, gyros to keep the plane level, what features does it come with for the OSD (I know you can add more but just out of the box). What kind of reciever do you need with it or can you just use an AR 410? Thanks

 

[JasonK]

Cool. So does it do things like GPS controlled failsafe

the board does not have a GPS receiver on it, but you can connect one to it

gyros to keep the plane level

yes that is the IMU unit, it has gyros and accelerometers, some have a 3D compass also (I am not sure if this board has the compass one)

what features does it come with for the OSD (I know you can add more but just out of the box)

this is 100% based on what software your running on the board

What kind of reciever do you need with it or can you just use an AR 410? Thanks

it needs to be a serial receiver and your going to need more then 4 channels (or a minimum of 1 more channel then control inputs that your plane needs - as you will need at least one channel to send mode/arm selection info to the flight controller board. to my knowledge the AR 410 receiver does _not_ meet these needs.
you could start by looking at this: https://store.flitetest.com/search?s=spectrum+serial+reciever for options. and look at the board's uart/power configuration info to figure out which one(s) will work.

 

[LitterBug]

Cool. So does it do things like GPS controlled failsafe, gyros to keep the plane level, what features does it come with for the OSD (I know you can add more but just out of the box). What kind of reciever do you need with it or can you just use an AR 410? Thanks

I have been flying a few different planes with FCs. The Matek F405-wing is a great option because you can fly iNav or Ardupilot firmware. I prefer the more refined Ardupilot, but it can be a bit intimidating since the configurator is not really intuitive. iNav configuration is easier, but I don't find it to be as feature rich or reliable. You will need an RX that has serial out. IE Spectrum satellite, FrSky Sbus/f.port, PPM, etc. You can make it as complex as you want. It comes with a Gyro, accellerometer, and barometer. If you want, add a GPS and you will have NAV modes like return to home and course following. The OSD is fully customizable. Add/remove the fields you want, and move them where you want on the screen.

This is in a Strix Stratosurfer which is currently my favorite FPV cruiser.

Here's the product page for the F405-wing http://www.mateksys.com/?portfolio=f405-wing
You will need soldering skills since none of the pin headers are installed on the board from the factory.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[IcedStorm777]

Ohhh ok now I understand. So I actually do have one of those serial recievers (came off of the older ft gremlin) so I would just connect the serial receiver to the board via the little tanish connector port? The reciever I have is DMS2, would that still work?

 

[IcedStorm777]

Couple of questions, on the exact same plane design (wing mounted engine pods, exact same weight and everything) which would be faster and more efficient, twin pusher or twin tractor motors? Also, would covering the entire wing of a plane in packing tape decrease drag? Thanks!