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This past weekend I had the privilege to join my fellow helicopter and multirotor pilots in Muncie, IN near the headquarters of the AMA for the IRCHA (International Radio Control Helicopter Association) Jamboree 2014. This almost week long festival is a combination of RC helicopter competitions, product showcase, and shopping for all things RC Helicopter. There were speed competitions, product demonstrations, [...]
Hot off the press at IRCHA 2014 Jamboree: SAB Heli Division adds one more collective pitch stunt helicopter to their line: a 380 Size (380mm approx blade size)! Called the Goblin 380, this helicopter only has 38 parts outside of bolts/bearings, which is the lowest part count for a helicopter of that size, EVER! Built to handle a 6S LiPo power system, this helicopter [...]
Nipping on the heels of my unboxing and build of the Invertix400, Blade Helicopters has announced an update for the 200QX Quadcopter to also perform Fully Inverted Maneuvers. Teased at eFest 2014 during the prototype stages, the software update is available now, with propellers for these maneuvers available soon. For the update, one needs the USB cable and props which can be picked up or [...]
Like a kid in a candy store, I quickly got to work building the Invertix 400 from Encore RC and Bobby Watts. It took a couple of hours (I’m very careful with all my builds, so actual time may vary), but she came out looking great! #gallery-3 { margin: auto; } #gallery-3 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-3 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-3 [...]
Here at BigSquidRC we love to run our RCs hard and with that we are always prepared to buy parts when you can’t help but say, ‘Did I do that?’ Multirotors are no exception, and with this ‘Cubby’ style rant I will tell a tale of how I have already needed to mothball one of my aircraft for the rest [...]
A while back I posted the first details of the EncoreRC Invertix400 full-3D capable quadcopter developed by Bobby Watts. The following weeks my email blew up from readers looking for more, or hoping we’d get to fly one and show off video. After talking with Mr. Watts for a few weeks, he got us our own Invertix to build and test! The review is [...]
Blade 200QX Quadcopter by Horizon Hobby – ReviewIn a RC World where quadcopters are becoming THE thing to pilot, Blade Helicopters took the popular 350QX platform and shrank it. Luckily, there was no movie starring Rick Moranis, but I did get the opportunity to give the 200QX Quadcopter a good test and you can see my thoughts on the aircraft after the jump…
Last week I made a giant step forward: I got myself an RC airplane. Thanks to Ares, their newer P-51 Mustang balances size and power for a nice package for an intermediate flyer. The big question remains: Am I an intermediate pilot? Find out and a few points I learned after the jump…
Hot off the presses via their blog, the guys over at FlyTrex have updated their GPS MultiRotor telemetry system to also provide live data feed straight to their website, making it the first ‘Black Box’ for quadcopters. FlyTrex Live uses a GSM (cell phone data) connection to transmit Speed, Location, Altitude, and Battery Voltage live directly to their website. What makes this [...]
Last week I posted the newest suggested policies the FAA has drafted regarding model aircraft (airplanes, helis, multirotors) and how they can be used for ‘recreation’ as compared to ‘commercial.’ Personally, the rules are not HORRIBLE, but they do go against most of the rules and policies of the AMA, the governing body of model aviation. Being a member of the AMA, I [...]
Granted, having a little extra dilithium in the warp drive is never a bad thing, but knowing how much power is left in your LiPo is more important for pilots (and most for multirotor pilots) just because RC Cars don’t fall from the sky when the batteries die! Above this you see quite the quadcopter wreck. My LHS/Employer has an intern [...]
As of June 25th, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released their interpretation of special aircraft and first person view (FPV) flight. Above you can see a few of their guidelines, and you can see more on what is or isn’t considered hobby/recreational flight by Reading More…
Ok, I’ll take a page out of Peter Griffin’s book: You know what really grinds my gears? The word ‘drone’. By definition, a drone is a aerial vehicle that does not have a physical pilot on board. When most people think of the word drone (previous to quadcopters), we thought of missile launching gliders flying over the Middle East during ‘Operation: [...]
Selfies are out, people! Trending hotter than the sun, thanks to a Drone-taken picture of Captain Picard himself, Dronies are all the new photography rage on the web. Making a Dronie in 10 Easy Steps: 1.) Grab your quadcopter. May I suggest a Ares QX130, Blade 180QX HD, or LaTrax Alias for those without 350QX or DJI Phantoms You can take your own Dronie like mine above by Reading [...]
This past weekend was a sad one for me: I attended a small memorial for an Ares QX130 quadcopter. Granted there was ice cream and lots of laughs abound, but I think this tale bears repeating as it does teach a valuable lesson. My cousin was lucky enough to get the quadcopter from ‘Santa’ this past Christmas, but it wasn’t until Chi-beria thawed [...]
