Servormances October 2010 Release

Update of the software was pretty quick ! Olivier Segouin released the new version of Servormances that includes the test results of the JR DS168, Graupner DES448, Graupner DS3288, Hyperion DS095, and the new kid of the block, the MKS DS6125.

You can download Servormances on Olivier's Blog: www.aeroglide.net

A big thanks to the Servormances team members for their contribution !

HoTT: Yet another 2.4 system at Gaupner !!

After reselling IFS, and acquired Weatronic, Graupner just released their "home designed and developped" completely new 2.4 system called HoTT (Hopping, Telemetry, Transmission) with up to 75 channels in the 2.4-GHz band.

It offers integrated telemetry in real time, is fully programmable with the help of the Smartbox (very similar to the Jeti Box).

System Features:

- Simple, extremely fast binding
- Range test and warning function
- Low-voltage warning
- Extremely broad receiver operating voltage range from 3.6 V to 8.4 V
(functional to 2.5V)
- Failsafe, free channel allocation (channel mapping); mixer functions and all servo - settings can be programmed simply with the HoTT-Smartbox
- Binding of any number of receivers for channel expansion (maximum of 32 channels)
- Up to 4 servos can be controlled simultaneously as a block with a signal repetition time of 10 ms (only digital servos!)
- Maximum immunity to interference through optimized frequency hopping and broad channel spread
- Intelligent Data transmission with correction function
- Extremely fast rebinding, even at maximum distance
- Telemetry analysis in real time
- Over 200 systems can be used simultaneously
- Future-proof through update capability via USB interface

Apart the update capability via USB interface which is really a nice feature, the rest looks like a jeti system !

more information in this document in English

Regarding the prices, they seems to me pretty aggressive with a 8 channel receiver at 75 Euros. Once again, Jeti seems the target.

The MX16 HoTT with a 8 Channel receiver is annouced at 329 Euros.

So the question is: Is it the end of the IFS system at Graupner ?

Maybe Jim Drew can anwser us ...

We all know that Graupner is not going very well at the moment, so the success of the HoTT system is critical for them !

Exclusive: MKS DS6125 tested with Servomances !

I sent one of the DS6125 I won at the Viking Race to Olivier Segouin (Servormances team member) who tested the servos yesterday. As reminder, Servormances is first of all a test protocol that allow to test servos in the very same conditions in order to be able to do true comparisons. Servormances is also a software with a very friendly interface (in french only, sorry mates !). Last update is from June 2010 and can be downloaded here: http://www.aeroglide.net/2010/06/mise-a-jour-servormances-2/.

Currently, Olivier is doing some servos tests with the Graupner DS3288, DES448. I guess a software update which includes also the MKS servos will be available soon.

As an exclusive preview, here is a comparison of the MKS DS6125 with the current wing servos references, from my point of view: the Hyperion DS095FMD, the graupner DS3210, and the Airtronics 94761Z.

To make it short the result is that the MKS DS6125 is comparable in term of max torque and speed, but surpasses all other servos in term of precision, positioning, neutral position, and bending under load. This is confirming the first user feedbacks.

This is all the characteristics that we are looking for on our competition gliders, so I predict that this servos will become rapidly the new reference and a best seller.

In France you can buy the DS6125 from HeliDigital.com

You can also watch this Video from MKS showing the DS6125 in action, and the extremely good accuracy and positionning:

On The Edge: Special edition 2010

Andy Ellison, a RCM&E columnist, wrote this 8 pages article plenty of useful explanations and advises. Because the corresponding magazine is out of print, I have the permission to share it with you all. A Big thanks to Andy Ellison and RCM&E.

To access the full article in PDF format, click here

Good reading !

Aerial Pictures

With the winter, It's time to change of flying machines :) ! I started to fly a quadricopter for 2 weeks. Apart gliders and motogliders, I had never tried helicopter or multicopter. This is a pretty exiting piloting excercice. The road is still long, but I start to be a little bit more confident, so today during the lunch break, I tried some Aerial Pictures with a home made AP Mount made from carbon tubes and coroplast, and the GoPro. Here is the result.





Except that we see the mount and the foam protecting the propellers, the result is quite nice. Tonight, I will build another mount in order to have nothing in front of the GoPro.

Pictures of the day

These 3 pictures From Jean-Claude Faure has been taken in the south of France on the slope of Vernègues (Near Aix en Provence) during an F3F practice. The glider is a Dingo (3m wingspan) so you can compare with the size of the Vulture !!!!!

446 mph, the video

Well, I prefer to warn you: difficult or impossible to see the plane, it is too fast. But the noise by itself is interesting :) !!!

Alliaj HM review

Here is a complete review of the Alliaj HM manufactured by Aeromod. Lots of video and pictures.

Read the review

Sad news: Joao Costa has left us

It's a very sad news I just learned from our Spanish friends. Joao Costa died in the night of Sunday to Monday, from a heart attack. Joao was the most French of the Portuguese or the most spanish of the Portuguese because it was perfectly trilingual. We will miss your kindness and good humor, Joao! Rest in peace up there. My thoughts and condolences are with his family and loved ones.

Pierre

Dynamic Soaring Fest

Last week was organised the Dyno-fest, a dynamic soaring meeting over 2 days, in california. Weather was great and lots of records has been broken, plus lots of personnal bests ! A concentration of higly skilled pilots, and amazingly fast planes !

You will find lots of pictures on RCgroups.

60" DS world record at 333 mph !

Joe Manor broke the 60" DS world record last week-end with his D60, a plane which is available on the market.

Here is the (amazing) video:

New DS World record : 446 mph !!!!

The new world record is now 446 mph with a Kinetic 100 flown by Spencer Lisenby.
More to come in the coming days with probably a video.

Where will they stop !!!!

Diaporama

Exploring Picasa functioanalities to embed a diaporama on the page:





This is a collection of pictures taken over few years.

Enjoy

Planet-Soaring and planet-soaring.blogspot.com are merging

I decided to merge both side in order to keep the best of each and combine them in order to obtain a single site where you can find articles, but also breaking news posts, video sharing, etc …
You can still access the old site (pierre.rondel.free.fr) but the front page will not evolve from now. New articles will be announced on the unique front page which is the blog page. The domain name Planet-Soaring.com is redirecting to it.

I hope the new site will be more active and alive and will continue to provide you interesting information like it does for 12 years now !!!

XG7: JR is no more using Spektrum DSM2

This is the first JR 2.4 radio that is not using Spektrum technology. The new techno used is called DMSS which stands for Dual Modulation Spread Spectrum.
According to JR, this allows to choose between FHSS or DSSS.

The XG7 comes with telemetry system which monitors receiver battery voltage. When the receiver battery reaches a pre-set level the transmitter will beep. The receiver battery voltage is also displayed on the transmitter.

The transmitter will be sold in UK. No idea about the rest of Europe as JR is distributed through Graupner with has a partnership alerady with Weatronic and IFS.

Ambrosia F3X

My Ambrosia has just exited from the moulds :) !

This new plane manufactured by Palo & Miro Polonec (Miro Model) . Miro Model is well known in the F1E (free fligth) world. For example, pilots from the french national F1E team are using Miro Model planes.

This is a crosstail sailplane with a 2.95m wingspan and a DP section. It has a original wing planform.

The plane has now a long trip from Slovakia to its new home in France in the coming weeks. As soon as I receive it, you will have a complete presentation in details.

Great video from Fabrice Estivals

The Go Pro is mounted on a Crossfire 2. I don't know how Fabrice did the CG balance, but the result is great:



Enjoy !

F3K

A new video from "Noisy Skies" about F3K. This guy knows about filming and video editing ! wwooow !!

-F3K- from l1pulsif on Vimeo.

29.92s , the video !

Here is the video of the record:

French F3F Record: 29.92 seconds from Pierre Rondel on Vimeo.

Look at the speed after the 5th turn. Something happens and the speed is much higher.

Enjoy !

Pierre

Swiss F3F Championship Video

A nice video about the Swiss F3F Championship that was organised last week-end in a nice place (Hahnenmoos/Schalmigrat)



Not too much wind apparently :( ...
Flying also in the Alps, I would say that October is a little bit late in the season. The thermal breeze is not blowing strong in Fall. That's why we are organizing our club competition beginning of September, not later.

what is good if doing F3F in slope like Hahnenmoos or the Col du Glandon is that the breeze is consistent and the thermal effect is very small. As a result Col du Glandon is currently the fairer place to fly F3F in France. The disavantage is that the probability to meet F3F condition is lower compared to region like Toulouse, or south east.

In Brief, there are pros and cons ;) !

Jeti transmitter confirmed !!!

According to J'm 's comment writen on this blog, the transmitter arrival is confirmed !
It should be presented ar Numberg (February 2011), and would enter in production in June 2011.

This is a great news !

my new toy is not a sailplane !!!

Yes, my new toy is not a sailplane but will complement my EZglider for aerial photography.
I finally didn't resist to buy a quadricopter. To begin, I choose the Gaui X 330 which is affordable and, in its second version with Scorpion motors sastisfies lots of happy owners.


Assembly took an evening. I'm now waiting for the camera mount + gears which should arrive soon. The Gaui will take on board the Go Pro or the Sony W350. I hope to obtain good result as soon as I will control the quadricopter.

This will be a complete new experience of piloting for me. Perfect for this winter, when F3F is doind a break.

More to come !

I broke the 30s barrier !!!

Yesterday (The 9th of october 2010) during the 3 round of the last F3F french league competition, I broke the french record and at the same time broke the 30s barrier with a amazing 29.92s !



The wind was between 18 and 22 m/s on slope A in Laurac (VKR slopes), with low clouds. My gain of altitude was average, and the first 2 laps were around 40s. But something happened until the end of the flight. It was like having a booster or a rocket on the plane. The wing were bending during each turn, but I didn't care :) !

I should have the video in few days because a modeler filmed the flight in HD with his camera.

I'm under 30s .... unbelievable !!!!! I joined the club :) !

2010 F3F French League victory

Like in 2009, I won the french F3F league with 4000 pts over 4000. I particpated to 8 contests over the 12 organised, did lots of kilometers on the road, lots of flights.



The french league exists since 2000. I won the league in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. not that bad :) !

The season 2010 has been an interresting season. I think I did the good choice in term of plane, practiced not too much, but at the right time.

My planes are undamaged. This is the time to look at 2011 and choose the planes I will use.

The scoop about Jeti

I received this fresh info, to be confirmed:

A Jeti Transmitter is in approach !!!!!

This is logical. All big brand sare replacing they range with native 2.4 which prevent to install another 2.4 HF module easily. So ,it was mandatory for Jeti to come with its own transmitter solution.

a superb video

This video is from Chris Williams. The plane is a HW-4 Flamingo and the cam is the GoPro Hero HD. This is a superb video with magic slow motion flyby.

The new Jeti Box is approaching !

We hear the rumour for monthes, but this time this is real: Jeti will release a new Jeti Box for its 2.4 duplex system with the fommowing features:

• Dimensions: 120 x 60 x 20 mm
• Display 4 data type at the same time or 1, but bigger
• wireless
• 8Mb memory
• USB connection to the PC
• Vocal (not only beep)
• jack connector for audio headset
• LiPo 450mAh
• Availability date: January 2011

In addition, Jeti is working on something revolutionnary that will be announced later. Wait and see !!!