Videos

450 APM Quad with "Dead cat" frame

We modified the 450 frame with a TBS clone frame, commonly known as the "dead cat" configuration. The "dead cat" config allows a prop free video recording view, plus it seems to be more stable. We flew the APM 2.5 quad in ACRO mode, without stabilization. It is actually much smoother than the normal STAB mode. Go try it! Configuration: ACE 5200mAh 4S 25C battery SunnySky 2212 980KV motors HobbyWing 40A ESC Sony 600TVL board camera with Mobius HD record cameras Take off weight: 1.8KG

2014-11-16

450 Size OpenPilot Quad lost power in mid-air

We flew this 450 size OpenPilot quad with a TBS clone frame. The SunnySky 2216KV1100 motors are quite good with cheap 8045 props. We flew the PIDs in rate mode, and the quad responds quite nicely. It unexpectedly lost power as the power plug came loose, but good lord a tree branch caught the quad, so, other than 2 broken cheap props, everything's fine.

2014-10-13

Gemfan 8045 prop vs. Cheap no brand prop? Cheap wins!

We built this 450 size quad running OpenPilot with Sunnysky 2216KV1100 motors. It has tons of jello with Gemfan 8045 carbon props. We switch to some cheap no brand 8045 props, and it flies very smoothly. The Gemfan props likely are either un-balanced or too heavy compared to those cheap props. We absolutely love cheap stuff that works, for the better.

2014-10-12

Finwing Pixhawk Accidental Split-S - FBWA test gone wrong

Okay, we tested the Finwing again after fixing the GPS. The goal is to test the performance of the fly-by-wire mode, that is supposed to assist the stabilization of the drone. Right after switching to fly-by-wire mode, it was inverted, and goes to a nose dive. Manual control was toggled, and a high G pull saved the drone from kissing the ground.

2014-09-06

450 APM:Copter Range Check, at Junk Bay

We tried this new drone testing ground a few weeks ago. We came back to test the range of this drone. The range used to hit at least 800M with different frame before. Now it tops at 568M. Very weird

2014-09-06

Finwing Pixhawk first FPV flight, heavily jammed by Dji quad

The rainy season here is coming to an end, so it is time to fly this Finwing with Pixhawk 3.1.0 for a spin. Right after taking off, we have to struggle to trim the plane, as it has a tendency to roll right and pitch down.

2014-09-05

250 quad with Naze32, FPV Training Flight

This is the training flight to fly the 250 quad we built previously with Naze32 flight controller. All the PIDs are default, but fly good enough for general FPV use. Enjoy. SHOW MORE

2014-09-05

Night flying LED test with KK Quad

We just put some Red and White 12V LEDs to a 450 frame with KK 2.0 board. Honestly, KK board is a lot more difficult to tune comparing to Naze32, APM and Multiwii. This KK quad will definitely go into storage.

2014-08-31

250 size quad with Naze32

We just built a 250 size quad to run Naze32. It runs absolutely amazing, very stable with default PIDs. Will try doing serious FPV flight next time.

2014-08-30

450 APM:Copter flying at Junk Bay, Hong Kong *HIGHLIGHTS*

We would like to chase some boats today. So we did 4 flights over the Junk Bay. PID of roll and pitch is now upped a bit to 4.2.

2014-08-17

450 APM:Copter visiting waterworks plant, near crash with P-51

We just tested the 450 size APM:Copter this morning, by tuning down the PID of roll and pitch, from 4.5 to 3.3. The maneuvers are much smoother now at the expense of being less stable.

2014-08-09

Multiwii 2.3 with Crius SE v2.5 flight test

After tuning the PID a bit, the Multiwii quadcopter flies better than the previous time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sexb8Qa5Dk8 For simple circuit and line-of-sight flying, it is quite a fun machine. However, 450 quads with 3S battery simply has no punch. Also, don't skim on your motors with cheap SunnySky angel series motors. They are absolutely rubbish. Putting 1045 props on these motors mean lots of vibrations.

2014-08-03

APM 2.5 on 450 frame, test flight with 4S 5200mAh battery

The APM 2.5 runs pretty lame on 3S battery on 650 size previously. So, we decided to try it with 4S battery on 450 size frame.

2014-07-21

Multiwii 2.3 with Crius SE v2.5, F450 Frame

We just try out hands on the "Crius Multiwii SE v2.5" board, running Multiwii 2.3 on a F450 clone frame. Setting and tuning it took us a while. If you use cheap motors and frame, you definitely need to use the low pass filter, such as Fly very nice with low pass filter, "#define MPU6050_LPF_42HZ".

2014-07-01

Ranger EX First Flight Highlights

This is the short edited of our first flight with the Ranger EX. For full unedited flight, please check https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhqSN2VfYt0

2014-06-14

Ranger EX First Flight in Yuen Long, Hong Kong

We are looking to acquire a new airframe for our new drone project. The Ranger EX with 2M looks ideal, so we test this air frame today.

2014-06-14

X600 APM:Copter at Nam Sung Wai

Yesterday the Nam Sung Wai area was full of little ponds http://goo.gl/HzUHvN but it is much better today. This time we have a 808#16 recording HD video. There is a bit jello on the video, likely due to one of the motors. Enjoy.

2014-05-26

APM:Copter had heavy 2.4Ghz interference in Yuen Long, HK

After flying an early fixed wing flight in Kai Tak, we go to Yuen Long to fly a quadcopter running APM. The APM running Futaba 14SG system can fly 800M very easily, if not 3.5KM. But we had trouble making 150M for the first flight, then 400M. Apparently, some heavy interference is out there. 昨天去完啟德飛完定翼，就去元朗飛 APM:Copter。之前用 Futaba 14SG 飛 800 米都冇問題。今次呢，想過河 150M 都有難度。於是就飛去廁所喇，點知去到 380M 番轉頭就入咗 failed-safe 迫住 Return-to-Launch. 南生圍既 2.4Ghz 干擾好似好勁。

2014-04-18

FMS P-51 Morning Flight at Kai Tak 啟徳夢飛行

Thanks to expert F, we have the opportunity to fly FPV at the infamous Kai Tak airport, which was closed since 1998. 多謝高手 F 指導，今早在啟徳飛了一轉。 這幾天難得天郎氣清，昨天早上到啟德飛了一轉。感覺非常捧。 能夠在啟徳飛實在非常難得，明年這裡會變成體育館及都會公園。總算留下一個回憶。

2014-04-18

ATG 六軸 APM:Copter 飛行測試

今次給大家介紹 ATG 六軸機架及 APM:Copter 實測結果。 APM 2.5 在重型六軸機架飛得很飄。Loiter 定位比四軸還差。另外，ATG 機架淨重都有 500-600 gram，加上所有配置及電池，總重有 1.8KG。留空時間都只有 7 到 8 分鐘，一點都不理想。 APM 通常的配置是四軸，建議大家還是用 Quad 或 X8 模式會好一點。 結論是 3S 3300mAh 電池飛得不是太有動力。不建議大家使用 3S 配置去飛六軸，至少都要 4S 電。

2014-04-17

Drone water landing in Yuen Long, Hong Kong

We were testing an APM:Plane drone in Yuen Long last weekend. The maiden flight was quite uneventful for the first 4 minutes. However, the elevator joint broke at the last turn to final approach, and crash to the pond next to the flying field. The wreckage was salvaged with most electronics re-covered, except the APM. The crash could have averted with a US$0.2 of epoxy glue securing the joint. Full mission planner telemetry display is available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zad2Ct5HU6Y

2014-04-16

One year of crashing flying things

Here is a video of all the flying things we crash for past 12 months. We had no idea how to fly remote aircrafts before, and it took a while to figure out how to setup the radios, tune PID values and other tiny gritty things. Aircraft involved in the video: Freewing Spirit, Freewing J-5 Cub, Skysurfer, T-Rex 250 DFC, X666 Quadcopter (KK 2.0), ATG Hexacopter (APM:Copter) But it was totally it. Stay safe and happy crashing.

2014-04-01

Flytron Green Strobe Light

This is the green strobe light "STROBON XL NAVIGATION STROBE (GREEN)" from Flytron: http://www.flytron.com/rc-light-syste... We are looking forward to put it on our fixed wing UAV. You can power the strobe light with a 5V source. PPM signal from the remote control toggles the light on and off. The light should be powered by a UBEC ideally.

2014-04-01

APM:Plane 2.76 Finwing Ground Test

This is a fixed wing plane running APM:Plane 2.78, with the Finwing airframe. The FPV camera is a Sony 700TVL mounted on a servo mount. Flight testing videos coming soon.

2014-03-22

APM:Copter on X600 Frame, flew 826 meters

Just test flew a X600 Frame running APM:Copter 3.1.2-rc2. The flight is quite flawless on a windy day, with Wind Speed 14KM/h, Gust 19KM/h. The test location is in Yuen Long, Hong Kong, which is not densely populated but mostly marshland.

2014-03-15

APM:Copter 3.1.2-rc2 Loiter mode on a windy day

This is a test video of a X4 quad, 600 size, flying on a windy day. Everything works, except the LEA-6H is slow to lock, sometimes took 8 minutes.

2014-03-13

Clearview RC Flight Simulator Review

Clearview RC Flight Simulator is a reasonably priced RC flight training tool at US$40. The physics and graphics are not the best, but it runs on computers with lesser specs, as well as VMWare Fusion on Mac. It is better crash and burn on a sim than the real thing. The Clearview RC helps you practise landings and flips on helis. You can train with your usual RC transmitter, with a USB dongle available at most hobby stores.

2014-02-01

Yuen Long Flying Ground Bustling with flying things

元朗南生圍在週末都有不少飛友出動。這裡是香港少有適合放飛機地方，亦都是香港民航處­指引中推薦的飛場。 今日就有見到不少飛友在遊人空群到來前爽飛了一轉。

2014-01-25

FMS P-51 香港元朗試飛

今日朝早冇風又晴朗。就即卡碌去飛場試飛。 這架 FMS P-51 都組裝好 11 個月了，但之前一直都沒有膽量試飛。在 ClearView Simulator 演練了上百次後才肯飛。 這架 P-51 飛得相當穩定又敏捷，用 4 個來形容是: 完美無瑕。

2014-01-25

Freewing J-5 Cub Flight Test in Yuen Long, Hong Kong

Today is a great day to fly this little cub. Wind picks up a bit but she flies nice and relax. The Frewing J-5 Cub is a good plane for beginners. Just push the throttle to 70% and it will launch into the air. Don't expect to do too much aerobatics with her, though.

2014-01-20

DJI Phantom 2 Vision Test Flight in Yuen Long, Hong Kong

A good friend of us tested the DJI Phantom 2 Vision in Yuen Long, Hong Kong 2 months ago. It flies quite well and tracks like on rail.

2014-01-20

Drone lost remote manual control with happy ending

We were testing a fixed-wing drone with manual control, to test the 5.8Ghz video transmission. Didn't enable the "return to home" function because the flight was supposed to be simple and "a quickie". Plane took off, and 3 other remote control planes also took off. Quite fun.

2014-01-13

Extra 300 EP Maiden Flight

This is the maiden flight of the World Models, Extra 300 EP in Yuen Long, Hong Kong. The Extra 300 tracks very very well with no trims necessary. The 1000kv motor at 80% throttle can easily fly 6 minutes with 3.8V (per cell) left, with a 3S 2200mAh battery. The plane has nice landing gear design with wheel pants on.

2014-01-08

T-Rex 250 DFC flight stable after wake turbulence

This T-Rex 250 is pretty stable, comparable to a quadcopter running KK board. The helicopter caught some wake turbulence from a RC Cessna plane. No problem whatsoever.

2013-11-02

Quadcopter with KK 2.0 行 running firmware 1.2

這是 X666 經 P Gain, I Gain 調試後之試飛。 現在之 P gain 是 110, I Gain 是 40。地點是南生圍。

2013-11-02

T-Rex 250 DFC Hover Flight

This T-Rex 250 used to crash like crazy. Ends up some glue stuck on the elevator ball link. Now flies okay. Flight time hits 4 minutes 25 seconds.

2013-10-10

Quadcopter 101: 怎樣去建造一架平宜的四軸機

今天就向大家介紹怎樣去建造一架平宜的四軸飛行器。 市面上有不少現成的四軸機，但是自己落手落腳整造的滿足感大好多﹐價錢上會平宜一點。

2013-10-09

HK$150 雷記木機 Rambler EP 試機 System Test

我一向都唔係雷記木機既 fan 屎。之前我對木機既感覺係用一個字去型容 - flimsy。呢個年代有 EPO 仲去玩包皮機? 木機應該係一撞就 bye bye。

2013-08-03