Losi 30C 1600 mah with EC2 Connectors

I ordered a Losi 30C 1600 mah LIPO for the Firebird Stratos. It has EC2 connectors and what looks like a standard 2 cell 7.4 volt balance charger connection. This battery, provided it works, should give me a lot of flight time. I hope the extra weight will not be a problem. Maybe it'll give me a little more stability in wind. I can always add some up trim.

Pylon Vibration, Dynam Powered Gliders

Dynam Hawk Sky and EZ Hawks get good reviews but a lot of people complain about the plastic motor pylon being noisy. Actually, the vibration is due to the stock propeller. A Park Zone nylon pusher prop is a good press fit onto the motor shaft and and the plane is much quieter. You also get much better performance. See pic below:

 One other thing I've done: I used hot glue to attach the pylon. The hot glue is slightly rubbery when dry and maybe that also helps to damp vibration.

The MAX13002S 25C LIPO with EC2 connectors...

... is a really good match to the Firebird Stratos. I got a chance to test the combination this morning and it worked really well. I ordered the battery from Hobby Zone. You have to add your own Velcro but that was easy.

The new camera has not arrived yet.

It is really hot...

... but this morning it was calm enough to fly the Cessna Champ. Rare, to be able to do that. But as early as mid-morning it was already hot enough and humid enough to make being outside an ordeal. I flew it until the battery got low. And then it got windy. No more flying today!

I've got some more Highway Pioneers from eBay and will post pics here soon. Meanwhile, here is a better pic of the new plane with its "sport wing" in the background. Also in the background an almost completed Goldberg Sophisticated Lady. Apart from the sport wing, of about 4' span, I have a pair of 2 meter wings for this new plane. I doubt that I will try to fly it before the weather turns somewhat cooler.

 

Firebird Stratos Battery Upgrade

I ordered a 1300mah upgrade battery from Hobby Zone-- this one is rated at 25C discharge, vs
20C for the stock battery. I'd like to go to 1500mah but I have not located a suitable battery with the required EC2 connectors.

I got out the EZ Hawk yesterday and battled the wind to a standstill. At least I didn't lose the plane or crash it, but the flight was not that much fun.

The new camera has been shipped. But it is coming from overseas, so it won't be delivered soon.

FPV Camera Upgrade

I've just ordered an HD 808 #18 key chain camera-- this has 8 gigs of memory built-in and a 120 degree wide angle lens. With this, I expect to get much better flight videos. Less than $40 on eBay, with free shipping.

Stratos follow-up...

I used a keychain camera, a $15 job from Newegg.com. I think better ones are available, but no larger or heavier. I had no problems with the plane's cg or performance. A Firebird Stratos makes a good platform for basic fpv. The only problem is the plane's relatively small size, putting a limit on altitude and distance. On the other hand, you can stow it in the trunk of a small car and take it anywhere you have space for a landing, and get flight video in many different locations. That'll be a project for the future. I want to go to different locations around town and get aerial views.

Firebird Stratos used as fpv platform...

 Kind of wet and windy this morning but I decided to try the Stratos as an fpv platform. I just used a #64 rubber band to strap on the camera, and, despite the wind, I got pretty good results! Here is the link to the short video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyh0i-lmM2g&feature=youtu.be

Excellent flying weather this morning!

I got great flights out of the Stratos and Hawk Sky. Both caught mild thermals and reached altitudes at the practical limit of line-of-sight control. Plenty of clouds, some quite dark and threatening, made the flights somewhat dramatic. It does not get much better.

More Pics!

Here is a pic of a plane that served me well, before it finally crashed. But I salvaged all good bits and used them in a powered glider (not quite completed).

Here is the eBay Firebird Stratos I've flown so often:

Here is the plane in which I am using the electronics from the FMS 1280-- I have 3 wings for this plane. Two of the wings are 2 meter glider wings and one is a shorter span "sport wing":

 
 
 

Very hot!

Yesterday I flew the Hawk Sky and one of the Firebird Stratos planes but it was HOT! Try standing under the baking sun for half-an-hour or more! Flying early in the morning is a bit of a problem because the sun glare in the East makes it necessary to avoid looking in that direction. Here, there is nothing on the horizon to block the morning sun-- no hills or mountains or stands of tall trees. I use a lot of sunscreen!

Great Flight!

Yesterday morning the weather was almost perfect so I took out the Hawk Sky and had a great flight, using power to get way up high, almost out of sight, and then simply gliding around. And then another application of power and another long, slow, circling glide. I did this for about  a half hour and then decided that the battery had probably had enough. If it wasn't so darned windy today I'd be doing the same thing.

Improved weather...

... allowed me to take out the used Firebird Stratos , taking both batteries with me, and fly around a local park for a long time. Ahhh! But later in the day I tried the new, discounted Estes X-81, and darn thing was not controllable. It flew out of range because I simply could not get it to turn. Very disappointing, to say the least. I've got the old one, still, and I KNOW that one flies. Could it be that quality is uneven? My wife and I walked around the area where it went down and could not find a trace. It joined the old Cessna Champ, I guess. In the future I'll stick with planes that use at least 3 channels for control.