Aerial photography and electric models

I just ordered a Magpie AP from Mountain Models

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It's an unusual design and worth taking a look at if you have an interest in putting your digital compact camera in a model.

I've messed around with a compact 35mm film camera on a home-made mount on my World Models Super Frontier Senior (SIG Senior knock-off) but had so-so results due to engine vibration. I used my smoothest four-stroke --a Saito .65-- and cut it down to a low idle when I activated the camera, but still had vibration blur in about 1/2 the shots. The shots that were in focus were great. I just wished there was a way to shut down the engine for picture-taking and start it up again to resume flying. (I know... there is a way, but I'm not going that route.)

The Magpie AP, a big high-wing foamy made for aerial photography, seems pretty popular. There are some long threads on it on RCGroups. It's inexpensive and according to the owners, flies very well. I think I read about 200 posts on RCGroups before I ordered it. =:-0 It has a swinging camera platform that you can control in flight. The camera rides in a cut-out in the fuselage and can be aimed straight out the side or rotated to point straight down. It should be ball for in-flight video. I can't wait to mess around with this stuff (if I ever get time).

I also picked up a neat video camera from

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the eDVR. It's a very small, lightweight digital video recorder with a built-in rechargeable battery and USB port. I've looked at several videos posted on RCGroups by users of this little device and they look great! I don't have it yet, but it appears to be small enough to use in almost any electric model.

And speaking of electric flight, I just finished my World Models Spitfire EP tonight. It came with a brushless outrunner and the whole deal was $99. The airplane is what I would call a typical World Models ARF: very well built, complete, easy to assemble, and not very true to scale. Oh, and I almost forgot: it comes with one of those WM pilot figures... the one I call "the ethnic mystery guy." He doesn't appear to be Chinese and I'm not sure what he's supposed to be. The electric powered ARFS come with a very lightweight painted foam version of their pilot and mine had his nose flattened in shipping, so he's particularly strange-looking. :-)

This electric stuff is becoming addicting after just a couple of flights with my old ElectroStreak converted to brushless/LiPo.

Good flying, desmobob

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desmobob
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Had my eye on the Magpie for a while myself. My original AP plane was a Right Flyer 40T. Pentax autofocus camera mounted inside looking out thru the side activated by a servo. Same problem, too much vibration with the OS .46LA engine I was using. Plane was a total pig too, always seemed to drag ass around the sky. Did the Aiptek RC-Cam Man bit mounted on a brushless geared Slow Stick. Some results were OK, but the cam kept going to sleep for some reason. Worked fine on the bench without fail but zzzzzz'd out every time in the sky. Tried a couple of diff ESC's but no luck. One school of thought was that I had an older version of the Aiptek Pencam so the chip mods didnt work properly. Received a custom built PICAXE unit

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yesterday to install in an Aiptek SD camera. Definitely thinking of the Magpie AP to carry both the SD camera and the Pentax aloft (at diff times). Also working on a modified Slow Stick with a blue foam Steelhead Industries wing modded for ailerons, brushless geared motor, and 2mm coroplast tail group.

Keep us informed on how your Magpie goes! That will inspire me to get off my ass and get moving forward on my own projects.

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Fubar of The HillPeople

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