Fort Wayne Flying Circuits/Multirotor Event

[Derek]

I found out that my local flying club will be holding a multirotor event this weekend. The way I understand it is that there is a pilots meeting at 9am, practice after the meeting and then racing at 10. The event to scheduled to run til 4pm and the weather forecast is looking very pleasant. As long as I don't get mandated to work overtime, I'll be there with a video camera and my ZMR250 (and extra props, too, lol). I surely don't expect to win any heats but it will just be fun to hangout with other quad-racers.

[Derek]

It's dark now on the night before the multirotor event at my club field. My truck is loaded up with all the non-electronic stuff (chairs, tripods, cooler, wagon for my daughter and a few other toys for her). I'll load up the ZMR250, batteries, FPV gear, charger, and stuff tomorrow morning. 9am is the pilots meeting and I think racing starts at 10am. I'm taking 7 full sets of props...hopefully I won't need them all, lol, but I've never been in a racing atmosphere before. I can't imagine that I'll win much and that's fine with me...I'm just going for the experience and to have a good time.

My Mobius is charging right now. My video camera is charging right now. I'll post some pics and vids of the event.

[Graham Lawrie]

Cant wait for the video:) Boris D in the making:)

[Derek]

Lol...Boris D....that's funny!

[Derek]

Well, that was a great time! I'm back home now. I had to leave a bit early because my daughter was getting moody and very much needed her nap. I left before any of the racing started but I had a really great time with the practice runs. There were 16 pilots. We were grouped in four groups of 4. A few of the guys were a bit concerned about my 600mw vtx interfering or over-powering the many 200mw vtx's that many other guys had but we had no video troubles at all. They did say that in future events, there will probably be a 200mw cap...meaning I'll need to get a 200mw vtx. Easy enough.

Anyway, I had 3 practice heats. I was the slowest one out there but I had a great time. Most of my laps were above the flags and gates. I'm still working on my throttle management and my FPV camera angle. However, it was probably a good thing that I flew so high because some of the other guys, in my group, were really fast and low....so I just stayed out of their way, lol.

My first practice heat, video to come later, a prop nut came off shortly after take off. The quad landed upside down and I immediately became a spectator, lol. After the practice heat was over, I looked for my missing prop nut but couldn't find it. One of the guys had a bag of spares (note to self...get spare prop nuts) and he was kind enough to give me one.

The second practice heat, I forgot to turn on the Mobius. I was just so excited to be a part of the event that my mind was just focused on getting started and completing some laps. After a few good laps, another prop nut came off but I was able to find it very nearby. I'm a bit bummed at this point because I knew that I had tightened those prop nuts. Regardless...I moved on.

The third practice heat went real well....video to come. I managed to keep all props and prop nuts secured. I managed my way around the course and showing some improvement. I went around all the flags and I even went through two gates, lol. I was quite pleased with myself and really felt a sense of accomplishment.

One of the guys had a Blade 360 (I think it was a Blade 360). I got some video of his helicopter flight...he's quite good! I have some still pics to sort through and some video of some of the other practice heats, too. I'll get those all posted, at the latest tomorrow.

All in all, I had a great time. My wife and daughter were a great pit crew. Munchkin was a great help, as always. My parents came out for a little bit to spectate.

I met quite a few new guys that were very friendly and helpful. They did say that there will be more events like this and I'll try to get to them.

[cml001]

Sounds like a fantastic time Derek... Yeah.. The guys here have dropped back to 200mw from 600mw while racing.. I'm told when they want distance to just cruise around while alone they but the 600 back on.. Only a few guys here racing.. Yeah.. Awesome.. Glad u had fun!

[Derek]

Yep...definitely had a good time! Everyone was friendly and helpful. I'm just hoping that I can get an ImmersionRC 200mw vtx without needing to get a Raceband vtx. If I have to get a Raceband vtx, I'll then need to get a Raceband vrx....ugh.

I'm gonna go do a bit of editing to the Mobius videos now. I don't understand why, but I the pics and videos from my video camera aren't there. A bunch of other videos and pics are in the camera, but nothing from today. Very disappointing! However, Dad did come out and he did take some pics and video with his camera. He's gonna get the files sent to me and I'll sort through them and get them shared.

[Derek]

Ok, here is the Mobius footage from the event today. As I mentioned above, I forgot to turn on the Mobius during the second practice but I got the video from the first and third practice.

https://youtu.be/iVGVDrw87Ys

[DOG]

Congratulation Derek for entering the event. You did very well for your first time.

[Derek]

Thanks DOG! Yeah....for my first time, I think it did real well and I'm quite satisfied.....and now I'm itching for MORE!!! lol.

[Stambo]

Nice going Derek, I gave little cheer when you went through those last two gates.
Did you clip the top of that gate at 2:27, sounded like it.
Now you have a quad that flies well, it's time for pack after pack after pack......
Before you know it you will be coming home with grass stained props and no crashes.

Raceband VTX will still work with standard VRX Derek, I know for sure, I have 3 of them.

[Derek]

Thanks Stambo! Yeah...I gave a bit of a cheer when I made it though those gates, too. Too Cool! Did I clip that top of that one gate?....yes, I think so, ha ha ha.

Now that I have a quad that flies well, I will surely try to get pack after pack after pack. I have two 3S 1550 packs, two 3S 1300 packs, and a 3S 1350 pack. Every other 3S pack that I have are 1000's, 2200's, and a few 5000's.

After a bit of searching, I did find this vtx:

http://www.getfpv.com/fpv/video-transmi ... itter.html

That one looks like a direct plug in and has the ImmersionRC/Fatshark frequencies that I am using now. Looks perfect! I'll speak to the wife about it today to see if she'll let me order one.

[Graham Lawrie]

Really good video Derek:) You did better than i would:) I struggle to judge when i am low to the ground:)

[Stambo]

That's the one I use Derek, works fine for me, I really don't notice any great difference between that and the 600mw.

[Stambo]

I struggle to judge when i am low to the ground:)

That just takes stick time Graham.

[Derek]

Really good video Derek:) You did better than i would:) I struggle to judge when i am low to the ground:)

Thanks Graham! I appreciate that! The first few laps were definitely challenging but it was awesome! I could feel that I was getting better....well, maybe not better but more comfortable. Just awesome fun!!!

That's the one I use Derek, works fine for me, I really don't notice any great difference between that and the 600mw.

Sounds good, Stambo! I'll check my local hobby shop today to see if they have one in stock. Because many of the guys from the hobby shop are getting into FPV quads, and FPV in general, they are keeping some ImmersionRC stuff in stock. If they don't have one, I'll get one ordered. I think it's great that it will be a direct plug in on my quad...meaning the wires are the same and I'll just be able to unplug the 600mw and plug in the 200mw. Very cool!!!