Drones

What’s all the craze about flying drones and quadcopters?  Well, it is addictive to say the least.  Below are topics of interest that will be addressed to hopefully answer some of the questions surrounding the new (well, maybe not so new) hobby of drone racing.

• What is drone/quadcopter racing?
  • This is similar to airplane racing, such as pylon racing, but with drones.  However, you may be going in and out, and around and through gates.  They’re called gates, but for our purposes, they will most likely be hoops made from pool noodles, joined together and shaped by PVC piping.  This makes it a little more gentle on the copter if you hit the gate.  Needless to say, if you hit and crash, the crash is more damaging than hitting the gate.  For racing, a course will be set up across from the pit area in the desert.  No racing will be on the runway, so when anyone crashes…(there’s that terrible “C” word) and you will crash, damage will be limited to the drone.  The runway is costly to repair so racing will not be over it.  Anyway, a course will be set up, and rules determined.  Racing hasn’t started, but once the club pilots get a little more proficient on their racer, we’ll give it a go.  Most likely, racing will be line-of-site, to begin with, and as proficiency with goggles progresses, the races will move to FPV (I know Robert…you’re almost there now!!!)
• What do I need?
  • AMA Membership
  • SLRCC Membership
  • Drone
  • Transmitter
  • Props
  • Batteries
  • Goggles
  • Tools
  • Carry case for all of your items.
  • Patience
• What the heck is FPV?
  • First-person view (FPV), also known as remote-person view (RPV), or simply video piloting, is a method used to control a radio-controlled vehicle from the driver or pilot’s view point. Most commonly it is used to pilot a radio-controlled aircraft or other type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
  • The way an FPV system works is like this: You have a camera on the drone. This has a transmitter which transmits the feed to a receiver. The receiver then transmits this to a display device.
  • FPV Transmitter – A video transmitter (VTX) is a device that is connected to your camera and transmits the video signal from your drone back down to you on the ground over the airwaves in real time.
• Resources to learn more and get set up.
  • http://www.droneuplift.com/the-ultimate-fpv-system-guide-everything-explained/
• Is it hard to learn?
  • Hard to learn is relative.  It is a new way of thinking, especially if you’ve been flying only RC Planes…..think about this….in an airplane…when you push the elevator stick forward, the nose drops and the plane loses altitude.  In a drone, the nose drops and the drone moves forward.  Granted, the plane is moving forward also, but it is reducing altitude and will crash if no other input is given to the elevator…ie…pulling back.  The drone will drop if you don’t increase throttle, however, assuming you increase throttle, the drone will move forward, and in some cases, it will climb.
  • You may wish to consider a simulation program on your computer.  Some that are out there are:
    •  https://thedroneracingleague.com/simulator/
    • http://www.realdronesimulator.com/
    • https://www.dronesimpro.com/product/dronesim-pro-uas-flight-simulator/
    • https://www.immersionrc.com/fpv-products/liftoff-drone-race-simulator/
    • https://www.aeroflyrc.com/
    • https://www.realflight.com/products/rfdrone/index.php
    • https://fpv-freerider.itch.io/
• Guidelines for flying drones/quadcopter at SLRCC.
  • Be safe…when in doubt…punch it out…(accelerate and climb out…assuming you may have lost orientation and are heading to the pits).
  • If you’re flying FPV (wearing goggles), you MUST have a spotter…no if’s, and’s or buts about it….A spotter can get you out of trouble…talk you back if you’ve lost it…tell you how high you are….you need a spotter.  This is an AMA rule.
    • AMA Unmanned Aircraft Operation Utilizing FPV
  • Be smart…don’t try to be a hotshot….these quad copters/drones get small real fast, and you can lose it in a flash….I speak from experience, and one lost drone at the field.
  • Practice, practice, and more practice….and when you think you’ve practiced enough….practice more.
  • If you have questions, ask the other pilots.  We’re in this together and we want to have fun and be safe.
  • AMA information regarding race course setup is below.
    • FPV Multi-Rotor Club Sport Racing Recommendations
• How to set up a stand alone video transmitter in an FPV plane.
  • After watching several videos, and reading, I learned how to put a stand-alone video transmitter (VTX) and camera in an RC plane (EFXtra), and power it from the balance lead of the battery.  I’ve included a picture of my setup that went on the EFXtra, along with a diagram from a website.  Keep in mind, that if you power your camera and vtx from the balance lead, you need to get a JST balance lead extender and cut the two leads (if you use a 3S battery) or the three leads (if you use a 4S battery), before you connect up the battery to your setup.  If not, you’ll burn it up immediately.  Anyway, you’ll notice on the balance lead extender that there are black wires (+) and one red wire (-).  Your camera will operate in a specific voltage range (see your camera specifications).  Most will work fine with 12V…..so you will want to use the black wire that taps the 3rd cell (that way you’ll pick up 12.6V…(I know…the 3S are actually 11.1V, but charge up to 12.6V fully charged).  So, if you look at the balance lead extension connector, there is a red wire on an outer edge…you will want to use the 3rd black wire away from the red wire to pick up your 12V (if a 3S, it will be the wire on the other edge of the connector; otherwise it is the 3rd wire away from the red wire…and there will be one more black wire on the edge of the connector).  You will want to cut the other two wires (if 3S) or the other three wires (if 4S)….and cut them shorter than the wires you’ll be using….and you may want to put a piece of shrink tubing over each one as you’ll see some wire at the ends where you cut…(just to be safe so there is no shorting when you shove all the wire into the battery compartment when flying.  Strip the insulation from a short section of the red and black wires you’ll be using to draw the power and test to make sure you have the right ones….assuming you get 12.6V…or somewhere close to that voltage, you’ve got the two wires you’ll need to power your VTX and camera.  From my picture, you’ll notice I made servo connectors to hook up power for both the camera and the VTX…..however you can strip/twist/solder the wires and then put heat shrink tubing over the connections, and you’re good to go.  This sounds complicated, but actually, it is straight forward and easy to do….and the best thing is….it works!!!  I’ve flown the VTX and camera system shown in the picture in my EFXtra, and it performed flawlessly.
  • Video TX and Camera Wiring
  • Wiring diagram for VTX
  • EFXtra Camera Closeup
  • EFXtra with Camera Attached
• What other types of drones are there?
  • Photo drones (like a DJI or Hubsan…and many more brands).
  • http://3dinsider.com/types-of-drones/
• What other applications are there with quad’s/drones other than racing.
  • Aerial photography
  • Remote sensing. Drones can carry sensing equipment to assist with any number of functions.
  • Commercial aerial surveillance.
  • Commercial and motion picture film making.
  • Oil, gas, and mineral exploration.
  • Disaster relief.
  • Real estate and construction.
  • Recreational use.
  • And….many more than are listed.