Plane

  • Thunder Tiger .60 Size Trainer. 9lb 0.3 oz dry weight with GPS receiver, video transmitter, PDC-10, PDC-20, 1500 mAh Li-Ion battery for receiver and 3000 mAh Li-Ion battery for the video transmitter. Futaba R148DP PCM receiver. 
  • OS .70 four-cycle surpass engine. 12x8 APC propeller. Cruising speed: 40 mph. Top speed: 60mph. Stall speed: 25 mph. 60 min flight time.
  • RC/video range - 2-3 miles
  • Pitot tube (velocity pressure reading) intake is on the leading edge of  the right wing.

    Too many wires!

  • Central bay view during assembly. The wires and electronics became a logistical nightmare to service. And the video/telemetry box is not even in the picture. I had to simplify...

 

    "Navigation box"

  • PDC-10, PDC-20 and co-pilot are neatly packed into a custom aluminum box. The box slides under servo tray.

 

    Central bay view

  • GPS receiver sits on top of video/telemetry box
  • Telemetry box is mounted with 3/4 inch of foam padding at the bottom of central bay.
  • Futaba receiver is glued to the side of the fuselage
  • One battery is on top of fuel tank another is between fuel tank and telemetry box

 

    Bottom view

  • co-pilot's sensor  is mounted at the bottom in X configuration. 
  • 2.4 GHz turnstile antenna for omni radiation pattern.

    Bottom view at the wing

  • Main camera is attached to a servo and can be tilted during flight.
  • Pitot tube outlet, camera servo, aileron servo and video out cables are connected before wing is put in place.
  • Second camera in the center of the wing observes GPS receiver screen during flight and reports altitude, ground speed and heading. This camera can be switched ON/OFF in flight.