Last weekend I finished up all the little bits on the EZ Star UAV and headed for the field late Sunday. The wind had died down to nothing, which is not that common for spring in DFW.

I performed the maiden without the camera so I wouldn't risk a few hundred bucks extra on the plane

It flew just about perfectly, but it was slightly tail heavy due to the layout I had selected. Once I landed and installed the camera, TX, and battery however, it was perfect. Here's some pictures.

Completed plane

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MadMonkey

The UAV is almost done! All I have left is finishing the radio equipment installations, touch up the paint, and install the camera.

The camera is a KX191 and it has excellent quality. I think it's going to work well... Sunday should tell the tale though (maiden).

I squared off all the girly edges of the Easy Star, enlarged the rudder, and added ailerons to the wing (which will also act as flaps and spoilers). It looks nice! I'm using a Grayson Super Sonic V2 for power, which should be decent. Still haven't decided on gyros yet, but if I use them it will probably be...

MadMonkey

I was contacted by the North Texas Airsoft organization based here in DFW to get a small UAV system put together for an upcoming event.

A while back I decided that if I have a talent for something, I might as well use it as often as I can, and this is a prime example. The airframe will be very, very loosely based on the RQ-11 Raven observation drone... I'll be using a Multiplex Easy Star ARF with a hot EDF motor/ESC combo from Grayson Hobby (with a prop). The airframe will be modified to include aileron control, and the battery compartment will be enlarged to carry two batteries,...

MadMonkey

With other projects popping up in addition to having little time, it has taken me a while to make progress on the H9 Cap 232. I'm happy to say, however, that the initial assembly is finished and it's been sent over to a friend's house for engine, cowl, canopy, and radio installation (I ran out of time and the other friend I was building it for was getting antsy).

To be entirely honest I wasn't very impressed with the quality of the ARF. Assembly was fairly straightforward but they could have saved a LOT more work with a small amount of planning (and there were several steps that...

MadMonkey

Well, my sponsor dropped off the new Hangar 9 1/3 scale Cap 232 at my house, finally. Man, this thing is a beast.

We'll be running 8411's all around with a Zenoah GT80; basically building it up per Horizon's and Hangar 9's instructions and completion guides. We'll modify as needed later on.

The hardware, engine, and radio will be arriving on Friday, along with my new antenna (for my 9303), so I'll be getting started on the building process then. I'm guessing about 2.5 weeks or so to completion, depending on how long I have to wait for parts and extra hardware.
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MadMonkey