Associate Professor  of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT Missy Cummings dropped a line to DIY drones on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight, not necessarily the most direct mention but she said "you can go to Do It Yourself Drones dot com and build your own..."

http://www.thedailyshow.com to watch the whole episode, the interview is a bit interesting on military aspects of drones.

Since I'm tired of seeing nothing here for the past day (yes some of us for some reason check for new blogs over and over....its a compulsion), I figured I'd share some of the not-so-spammy-spam that has been cluttering my mailbox from Laminar Research!

X-Plane 10 is here!!!  Full information here 

http://wiki.x-plane.com/What%27s_New_in_X-Plane_10

and here 
http://www.x-plane.com/purchase-x-plane-10/

Some new features:
Obvious graphical improvements

"Plausable" scenery, never again look at the annoying looking flight sim ground! (sweet!)
Better handling of multithreading on multicore/multicpu systems 

New weather system, clouds now look real from all angles, and not weird/2d when you're at the same altitude as them.

more...check first link for full list

Now is this fully compatible with APM?  I don't know yet, the demo is available but i haven't tried it, i'll give it a shot tomorrow, i expect it should be no problem, however i have not read full release notes to see if there have been any changes with network controllers and data throughput.  Either way, X-Plane is by far my fav flight sim, and its nice to see its gotten even better :)

I've been building a Bixler/Sky Surfer for a few months now, and had ardupilot mega and all in hand, yet no pilot experience.  So i've joined a local AMA club and learned to fly.  Last week i flew with the APM for the first time, and this week (after waiting to get the pan/tilt mount in) flew with the camera, so figured I'd show the results of video recorded with the APM planner :)
 

I'm using AirScapeRC's EasyGear (designed for Easy Star's, but easily working on the bixler, i posted a blog on it a month back) for takeoffs/landings, as i don't like hand launching something thats worth $1000 :P

Full APM with xbee900mhz

Turnigy9x with ER9x radio (stock receiver, going to upgrade to UHF tx/rx)

Stock outrunner motor the bixler comes with, with a 6.4e prop

5.8ghz video tx/rx, and DIYDrones Store cheap-o CMOS camera

thinking i need some better wiring, for one (its cramped in there!) and some filters, possibly ferrite ring on the camera feed and/or shielded cables.  Let me know if anyone has suggestions for improving video as i'd /eventually/ like to fly fpv, with the current quality that's a definite no. 

Hi all, first post after mulling around reading everything on the site and then some.  I have 2 Hobbyking Bixlers (well, 1 bixler, and 1 Sky Surfer from http://readymaderc.com/, they are the same and sold also on other sites).   After reading into it, getting it, flying it a bit, and having it a bit, i decided i really want some landing gear for it.  Unfortunately, even with all the extensive mods available on RCGroups, the only landing gear mod i could find required some manual fabrication, which i don't really like doing :P

Anyhow, after digging i found this

http://www.airscaperc.com/Landing_Gear.php

CNC Machined spring metal gear made for the Easy Star (and works on clones just fine!)  Including a steerable tailwheel attached to the rudder so no extra servo required.  Install is quick, and there are a few different sized wheels that they sell directly (or you can use some you get from your local hobby shop, up to 3.5inch wheels will fit, i'm using 3inch currently though may change).  

Here are some pictures:

Above:  Easy Gear and 3inch wheels installed on Sky Surfer v1 (aka Bixler).  Extra set of EasyGear still in package.  and of course the APM :P
Above:  Easy Gear in packaging.  Comes with install instructions, but there's also an install video on the airscaperc website.  (Jon, the proprietor of AirscapeRC, was kind enough to send me a spare set of easy gear after some shipping confusion, excellent customer service.)

Above: Top part of tail gear attached to rudder. (Note:  I made a small groove in the rudder for the wire to sit in as its not designed exactly for the Bixler).

Above:  Out of focus image of Tail wheel (sorry, couldnt see it was out of focus on my iPhone). My alternate FPV canopy as well :P

Some notes on installation on the Bixler:  Follow instructions sheet and/or video for the most part, with some slight differences.  Firstly, try to mount main gear directly under CG (60mm from LE of wing).  As the instructions state, there are 2 notches in the center of the gear to line up with the antenna channel.  Second, you may want to carve a little bit of foam, though not necessary, on the inside of the fuselage in order to have the backing plate sit flat (I didn't, i just glued it to the edges where it sat, and its fine).   Also on the tail gear bracket, don't follow the measurements in the instructions, they are different, the bracket will stick out further than on an EasyStar so eyeball the hole to line it up with the elevator hinge.  And finally the rudder is slightly different too so as i did, you may want to cut a small grove in it to accommodate the landing gear wire.   You may also want to order some of the larger-thicker tires as they come with a protective skid that mounts to the landing gear bracket to protect the wire assembly when taxiing on rough terrain.  Finally, use a straight edge to align the tail wheel to the rudder (again as its not designed exactly for this model).  First time after install i neglected to do this, had to compensate with rudder to go straight for takeoff, and immediately rolled/crashed when it got up due to rudder-left :P

Hope you guys like these, i don't make them i just found them, but Jon at AirscapeRC is a real nice guy, they make a nice product, and i don't mind throwing some business his way :P  I'm sure a lot of us on this forum also use the bixler so this is a nice addition.  Also to note, a few people i've seen on youtube also use this (though i think slightly modified, i'm not sure) on the Sky Walker airframe, and i'm sure it can be used on other moderately sized belly-landers as well without too much trouble.