OT: Another shooting hobby of mine!

Hi! Just thought I'd share another interest of mine. Aerial photography using RC helicopters.


The rig.







Thanks.

arnoldb74

 

Sure! Just not sure about the noise the engine makes. It can be distracting to the shooter.

I'm currently building an industrial grade rc helicopter. It's a 100cc twin engine and has a payload capacity of 45 lbs. Enough to carry heavier high definition cameras. It will also be complete with a GPS guidance system for better stability in air. The kit is with me. I'm just trying to find time to assemble and test it.

Thanks.
arnoldb74

 

Hi! It's a two-man system. One pilots the helicopter, the other one controls the camera. It has a separate tilt and pan , shutter control, and a live video downlink for accurate framing. I used a powershot S70 for the pictures above.

I also used a minidv to shoot some videos. We flew it to a height of 2000 ft above ground(based on onboard barometer, well above visual range. The only way to control it was thru the video downlink system. I'm assisted by gyros and gps to stabilized the heli, but video was not as good because of strong winds at that altitude.

 

Hi!

Basic helicopter and radio setup would set you back around 120k. Navigation electronics like GPS and UAV conversions is another story. I've attempted to fly fully autonomous flight twice and almost lost the helicopter! GPS signal sometimes become unreliable. I've researched a much better post paid GPS service but its $3000 a year!!

Thanks.

Arnold

 

Napinap!

Hi! You need a whole lot of training to fly the helicopter. The manual doesn't cover it. I went thru a couple of crashes before becoming a safe rc pilot. My new system however, will allow almost anybody to fly it virtually without crashing. With GPS guidance and gyros, even my seven year old son can fly it.

There's also one time that I tried combining my interest in firearms and aviation. I hooked up an airsoft pistol and a simple camera to the same rig. May tilt and pan siya plus a servo para sa trigger. Instant weaponized UAV heheh! Pinanghabol namin ng baka dito sa Laguna. But I know it will raise too many issues kaya scrap project.



Thanks for responding!

 

Checkout this video. Airplane gamit namin with telemetry and some GPS guidance for stablity. Try to guess where I'm flying over. BTW, at 3000 feet, we have no visuals of the aircraft.
We're just relying on the video downlink its sending back to the ground.

 

Hi! The doctor I know is Doctor Estrada. That's from way back circa 80s sa Mambog, Cavite pa kami.

Here's another one at 15000 ft. Clouds na lang.