FPV Easy Star

[lee]

So why looking for a new on board cam i come across this and thought i would share it with you all as it reminded me about Trent and his love for the easy star.
fpvpilot.com/FPVEasyStar.aspx
Theirs a Aluminum Canopy you can buy to house the FPV in the easy star but it is 18 grams.
Whats your views on this?

[rdstarwalt]

My view always factors in the building skill/resources of the individual.
In the case of the EasyStar (ES), there is almost no skill required.

Another consideration is cost. Foam aircraft are very economical and if you go the route Trent has and build from cheap supplies, the biggest cost is your time.

Trent's Nova has the same basic design (in fact he admits to taking dimensions from it) of the ES though made from different materials.

I am not a fan of having stuff hanging out in the airstream, it only adds drag.
In the case of the photo shown, I would rather have the camera inside the cockpit and looking down from a hole in the belly or straight out the nose.

Pan/Tilt? There was a great ball mount recently shown on DIYdrones site.
www.diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/40mm-retractable-camera-turret

[rdstarwalt]

A review of online images of 'FPV' planes indicates to me that most of designs are an adaptation of a 'classic' model. By that I mean the model is an analog of a real aircraft - cockpit layout is just like a full size aircraft.

An FPV application that puts 'stuff in the wind' is working around the design of the plane where it should be the other way around. The plane should be built to use FPV gear.

I am messing around (on the PC) and hacking the Nova to more readily support FPV gear. When I get my foam cutter running (the power supply is done, now working on the table and wire tensioning hardware), I will share picture and models.

In short, think about the box the gear sits/hangs in rather than adapting the gear to an existing box.