Hello guys!This is my first post, so I do want to apologize if i ask things that have already been discussed. I've tried to search to forums to the best of my knowledge.Building a UAV has been on my to-do list for some time now and this summer i'm finally going to do it! I've been lurking around this site and forum for some time now to get into the feel of the whole UAV-business. My ultimate goal is to have an autonomous plane flying around a pattern while I can control a camera and taking high-res pictures.But I'm going to start in baby steps and the first order of the day is to get e decent plane to start with.The thing is I already have the EasyGlider and I'm quite comfortable flying that. I can easly slope soar on a local beach for an hour with the kit-engine and 2100 mah lipos. The queston tho is how good is this plane as a UAV platform. I've read a lot of good things about the EasyStar but to be honest the budget is limited and starting of with a new plane seems like going back to the roots a little to much.So my thinking is that I'd upgrade the easyglider with a brushless motor and maybe larger batteries. My general question tho is how would this compare to the easystar? What's the difference in ability to carry a payload for example? What about flight times? The EasyGlider certainly isn't very spacious but the easygilder seems almost even more crammed.What are your five cents?Also, as a side topic: I really want to be able to take good photos, not just top-down stuff for google earth. How would you recommend I go about setting up a camera for that? I've been thinking in the lines if wing-mounting the camera some how but I'm afraid that would mess upp the flight characteristics to much. And also the camera would be dangerously unprotected when landing.Mounting it inside the easyglider seems most logical but it's not really possible to make it face forward since space is to tight plus the prop is in tha way. Lying flat on the bottom only gives top-down pictures which is not what I want. What about flat and some kind of prism? Has anyone tried that?I'm looking forward to your comments!Olle MattssonHelsinki, Finland
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some have upgraded there eazystar with the wings of the eazyglider combining the advanatages of both.
It only takes a small bit of triming of the foam.
After reading your problems about incorporating a camera onto your EasyGlider, i think i have an idea as to how you can go about this. If your refer to the pic Reto has uploaded in his reply to this post, you will see that the propeller is raised high above the cockpit. I think it would be a lot simplier to basically mount the camera onto the frame used in this case to hold the motor. You could angle the camera to get the type of pictures you wanted and it is almost completley out of harms way!
Many people have tried many tricks to free some space in the front of the EasyGlider. RCgroups shows some of them. Maybe you may find something suiting you.
I think you've got the basics well thought-through. The Easy Glider, while a lovely plane, is a poor UAV platform for the reasons you described, mostly the lack of much internal room. (The EasyStar, while a smaller plane, has more room because the motor and servos aren't in the cockpit. There is enough room in the EasyGlider for ArduPilot but not for a camera, too, so you would have to mount that outside somewhere.
Mounting a camera outside is not a huge problem in terms of flight characteristics, but it does risk being damaged on landing if it's facing down. The best platforms for cameras are high wing trainers with landing gear that land on hard runways, such as the Superstar EP that we recommend.
But if you want to save money and start with what you've got, the Easy Glider is fine. Tweak your PID settings as per Bryan's last posts and you should at least have a good UAV, even if it's not the best photo platform.
Replies
It only takes a small bit of triming of the foam.
After reading your problems about incorporating a camera onto your EasyGlider, i think i have an idea as to how you can go about this. If your refer to the pic Reto has uploaded in his reply to this post, you will see that the propeller is raised high above the cockpit. I think it would be a lot simplier to basically mount the camera onto the frame used in this case to hold the motor. You could angle the camera to get the type of pictures you wanted and it is almost completley out of harms way!
Hope This Helps!,
Jake
I think you've got the basics well thought-through. The Easy Glider, while a lovely plane, is a poor UAV platform for the reasons you described, mostly the lack of much internal room. (The EasyStar, while a smaller plane, has more room because the motor and servos aren't in the cockpit. There is enough room in the EasyGlider for ArduPilot but not for a camera, too, so you would have to mount that outside somewhere.
Mounting a camera outside is not a huge problem in terms of flight characteristics, but it does risk being damaged on landing if it's facing down. The best platforms for cameras are high wing trainers with landing gear that land on hard runways, such as the Superstar EP that we recommend.
But if you want to save money and start with what you've got, the Easy Glider is fine. Tweak your PID settings as per Bryan's last posts and you should at least have a good UAV, even if it's not the best photo platform.