Houston Fliers are ya out there??

[FlyingFanta]

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7060

Some Houston playground flying yesterday ended up with a crash behind some gates. Fortunately, only the anti-vibration jello balls came loose and some scruffs on the props.

Heading out to another park today. Come'on guys we need to get some of these things up in the air!

 

[gmtx]

My replacement came in today, just in time for the snow and ice, but maybe if this weekend's nice I'll have a chance to fly for the first time. Looking forward to it.

 

[FlyingFanta]

My replacement came in today, just in time for the snow and ice, but maybe if this weekend's nice I'll have a chance to fly for the first time. Looking forward to it.

Nice. PM me where you plan on flying. I may try to make it out.

 

[drewtx]

if you drive out to hwy 6 and westheimer, cross over the dam, nothing but fields! there is an actual rc aircraft park there with a runway for airplanes. across the street from that, there is a shooting range, huge dog park, and all kinds of other stuff to video.

there is a childrens playground with a huge field off to the side too. the national guard armory is out there too.

if you go towards bear creek park, directly across the street from the park on hwy 6, there is another dog park, skateboard park and more fields with ponds.

if you go into bear creek park, near the back is a huge open field that will allow you awesome footage of bear creek golf course.

i do have video from the area, but no videos posted online because i had video issues and they were kind of crappy. that problem has been solved, but i havent been back out that way yet.

there is parking at the actual dam site on hwy 6. its limited, but there is a huge field there as well that will let you get awesome footage of the dam and surrounding area.

drew

 

[FlyingFanta]

Here's some flying at a park a couple of weeks ago.

https://vimeo.com/85119293

 

[Pmcdn]

I live in the SW Houston area. I am new to this hobby and have a P2V, but haven't yet flown it (only had it a few days).

I am eager but also nervous to fly!

 

[FlyingFanta]

I live in the SW Houston area. I am new to this hobby and have a P2V, but haven't yet flown it (only had it a few days).

I am eager but also nervous to fly!

Welcome!

Have any videos posted yet?

 

[Pmcdn]

I live in the SW Houston area. I am new to this hobby and have a P2V, but haven't yet flown it (only had it a few days).

I am eager but also nervous to fly!

Welcome!

Have any videos posted yet?

I haven't flown it yet. Soon!

 

[gmtx]

Drew,

Thanks for the info on GB and Bear Creek. If the weather cooperates I'll try and get out there this weekend and do some learning. Wide open is what I need.

Geoff

 

[FlyingFanta]

Drew,

Thanks for the info on GB and Bear Creek. If the weather cooperates I'll try and get out there this weekend and do some learning. Wide open is what I need.

Geoff

https://vimeo.com/86238507

This weekend we flew around Hermann Park. The weather was fantastically nice outside. I was a little nervous going over the lake and am glad I'm not burying the electronics in rice right now trying to dry them!

 

[gmtx]

Found a couple of nice wide open fields at Bear Creek. Not a lot to see, but a great place to learn. Got a couple of hours of stick time in, and with no wind it was a lot easier to fly. I'm still having depth perception issues - once the Phantom gets more than about a hundred feet away I have trouble judging whether I'm actually past an obstacle that I need to maneuver around. I find myself not looking at the FPV as much as I should I guess, but the I also find looking at the phone not a great experience, especially in the sun.

Fanta, I watched that Hermann Park video and you fly closer and faster in, and around, people and obstacles than I would ever dare. Are you using goggles? How are you managing the depth/"distance from stuff" issue?

 

[FlyingFanta]

Found a couple of nice wide open fields at Bear Creek. Not a lot to see, but a great place to learn. Got a couple of hours of stick time in, and with no wind it was a lot easier to fly. I'm still having depth perception issues - once the Phantom gets more than about a hundred feet away I have trouble judging whether I'm actually past an obstacle that I need to maneuver around. I find myself not looking at the FPV as much as I should I guess, but the I also find looking at the phone not a great experience, especially in the sun.

Fanta, I watched that Hermann Park video and you fly closer and faster in, and around, people and obstacles than I would ever dare. Are you using goggles? How are you managing the depth/"distance from stuff" issue?

Right, I'm using the FatShark Predator V2 kit. It's not the best but works well enough. Depth perception is definitely an issue. Flying very slowly around obstacles in familiar areas helps your mental map of where you're going. I also walk the area and scope it out on google maps before flying.

I started flying the Phantom the first week of January and crashed it a few times with tree branches I couldn't see in places I wasn't familiar with. I've also flown several times in open fields and practiced following a jogging trail or picking a stationary object to try to fly around it, above it, etc. Doing all of it very slowly just to start learning how to walk/fly around using your single FPV "eye". You start learning in what ways the Phantom flies like a fat boat and how what type of movements are easy to correct.

Definitely still learning. I don't think the prop guards are coming off anytime soon.

Regarding looking at your phone... Are you flying FPV via a Vision? Tell us more about trying to know if an object is in front or behind you.

Also, how are you able to get so much stick time? Lots of batteries?

 

[gmtx]

Last question first : Lots of batteries (well, only three, but I keep recharging!)

The depth perception issue came up when I was flying around and through trees to force me to really concentrate on controlled flying, but it turned out that controlling the Phantom was the easy part. The hard part was figuring out when I was past a tree and could safely turn. There's some magic distance that I haven't figured out yet where I just can't tell where in space the Phantom is relative to things around it. That's where I'm still learning. And yeah, I'm flying a P2V, so the phone is my FPV and I just find it to be pretty lacking, especially in daylight. Just too hard to see, so I end up eyeballing the Phantom to get my bearings, but then the distance perception thing is back and sometimes I just have to stop moving and walk closer to the Phantom to figure out where it really is.

I think I just need to be patient and learn to use the FPV when I need it. (Flying through trees is terrifyingly fun!)

 

[mmccurdy]

Phantom 2 pilot here! I live out in Cypress area. As the weather gets better you will see some videos around Cyprus from me. There is also a new forum. Houstonmultirotor.com.

 

[radioguy]

Okay..finally got my Phantom 1 back from repair..as the weather starts getting better, let's try to meet somewhere reasonably close to all of us. I live in Missouri City...any suggestions? Personally, I feel more comfortable trying to stay away from people to minimize any chance of an ugly landing hurting an unsuspecting passerby. Another idea I came up with is to start a Facebook page for the Houston fliers, so we don't have to tie up the bandwidth on the PhantomPilots site...

Radioguy

 

[Erroneous007]

I am a relatively new P2V pilot (3 weeks) in Missouri City. Although the past two weeks I have been in LA on a project. Here is a photo I got Sunday at Redondo Beach. I have flown at the Quail Valley Golf course (will be doing videos ofr their web site in March), but not many other areas around home.

 

[FlyingFanta]

I think I just need to be patient and learn to use the FPV when I need it. (Flying through trees is terrifyingly fun!)

I see now. If you have an iPad, can you crank up the brightness? Maybe also blinders for your phone to reduce glare?

Also, they sell goggles for iOS device output so you can hook it up to your P2V via your iphone.

I understand now about your line of sight flying. Yeah, there's no way I could have flown the way I flew without FPV goggles.

 

[FlyingFanta]

Phantom 2 pilot here! I live out in Cypress area. As the weather gets better you will see some videos around Cyprus from me. There is also a new forum. Houstonmultirotor.com.

Weather has been pretty nice over the past week!

 

[FlyingFanta]

I am a relatively new P2V pilot (3 weeks) in Missouri City. Although the past two weeks I have been in LA on a project. Here is a photo I got Sunday at Redondo Beach. I have flown at the Quail Valley Golf course (will be doing videos ofr their web site in March), but not many other areas around home.

Nice evening shot! Any video?

 

[FlyingFanta]

http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php ... n-Tx/page1