AeroMaestro
Senior Member
I've been flying a FliteTest Versa Wing FPV for about six months. It's pretty fun, but the plane gets knocked around pretty badly by any wind. Today I was flying in 7-10mph winds, which I don't consider to be "strong" and anytime I was downwind, the poor wing got knocked about so badly that it was not very much fun. Plus, being made of Dollar Tree foam board, the plane doesn't hold up very well to moisture, which is going to be a common problem since the wing obviously needs to belly land.
So I'm looking to move on to a different plane or wing. My main problem with the Versa Wing, apart from its issues in the wind, is that it's got a lot of yaw "waggle," especially when there's a cross wind. I think this is a pretty common issue in wings, but maybe other wings handle this better with less back and forth yaw? Also, I find myself really wishing for some rudder control every so often.
I've got an extra APM 2.6 flight controller, and I might like to install it to see if it can smooth out either plane. GPS isn't so important to me, apart from finding lost models. I definitely don't care about autonomous flying.
I should mention that I'm cheap. Spending more than $100 for an airframe seems ridiculous to me. So I'm looking at two different options:
1. A different wing -- either the Crash Test Hobbies Piñata, or maybe the Team Black Sheep Caipirinha. The Piñata, at 43 inches, is about the widest plane I can get in my car. (The Versa wing is 47 inches, and I have to angle it carefully to slip it into the trunk.) They're both made of EPP, and the CTH Piñata is probably pretty much indestructible. Does anybody have much experience with either of these as an FPV ship? I see a little bit of yaw waggle in TBS's Caipirinha videos, too. Are these planes tough enough that it's worth "upgrading" from my scratch built versa?
2. A Bix3 -- why the Bix3 over Bixler 1/2, or any other plane of similar design? Mostly because it's pretty darn cheap, and has a convenient setup up front for FPV equipment, with plenty of options for flaps, big batteries, etc. On the Bix3, I'd probably setup a head-tracker on my FPV camera, too. I'm guessing the downside of the Bix3 vs a wing would be speed, and maybe a wing is more efficient at heavy lifting? But I like the idea of removable landing gear (and maybe I'd experiment with floats!) and a rudder would be very nice.
Thoughts? Who's tried both types of FPV systems?
So I'm looking to move on to a different plane or wing. My main problem with the Versa Wing, apart from its issues in the wind, is that it's got a lot of yaw "waggle," especially when there's a cross wind. I think this is a pretty common issue in wings, but maybe other wings handle this better with less back and forth yaw? Also, I find myself really wishing for some rudder control every so often.
I've got an extra APM 2.6 flight controller, and I might like to install it to see if it can smooth out either plane. GPS isn't so important to me, apart from finding lost models. I definitely don't care about autonomous flying.
I should mention that I'm cheap. Spending more than $100 for an airframe seems ridiculous to me. So I'm looking at two different options:
1. A different wing -- either the Crash Test Hobbies Piñata, or maybe the Team Black Sheep Caipirinha. The Piñata, at 43 inches, is about the widest plane I can get in my car. (The Versa wing is 47 inches, and I have to angle it carefully to slip it into the trunk.) They're both made of EPP, and the CTH Piñata is probably pretty much indestructible. Does anybody have much experience with either of these as an FPV ship? I see a little bit of yaw waggle in TBS's Caipirinha videos, too. Are these planes tough enough that it's worth "upgrading" from my scratch built versa?
2. A Bix3 -- why the Bix3 over Bixler 1/2, or any other plane of similar design? Mostly because it's pretty darn cheap, and has a convenient setup up front for FPV equipment, with plenty of options for flaps, big batteries, etc. On the Bix3, I'd probably setup a head-tracker on my FPV camera, too. I'm guessing the downside of the Bix3 vs a wing would be speed, and maybe a wing is more efficient at heavy lifting? But I like the idea of removable landing gear (and maybe I'd experiment with floats!) and a rudder would be very nice.
Thoughts? Who's tried both types of FPV systems?