Uncrashable RC Plane for $54 in Hardware? YUP, It's Crash Proof!

[@daviddelorenzo9843]

John, probably not the right video for me to make comments on (just the most recent) that said, a little about me first, I'm 60+ disabled and up to two years ago had been out of the fixed wing RC hobby for over 20yrs. My younger brother (by 18months) in an attempt to get me out of the house has gotten me sucked back in. The RC world has changed by leaps and bounds in that absence, with my brother's help and KZbin videos of all kinds, your RCVR videos and your flying and narration/instruction has been IMO a step above most. Even when the videos are of more advanced topics or planes you never talk down to beginners or intermediate pilots, and with new planes never a "hard" sell. Thank You, David

[@RCVideoReviews]

Welcome back to the hobby. Yes, capabilities have change dramatically since I first got into the hobby too. Anyway, I appreciate the comment. Very kind.

[@matthewwilken2051]

@@RCVideoReviews ive been flying since the late 70s early 80s and i hear ya, but honestly its not as different as you might think, except some of the smaller more finicky planes that have gyros or AS3x or safe in them makes the smaller planes handle much better and can feel like a larger more stable rc aircraft. with that being said ive trasitioned from the old gold futaba am/fm radios to spketrum dxs or ix 12s to uppdating and setting up radiomaster transmitters.. the RFs are now on much better bands and frequency hoppers, the difference now are better mixing options and telemetery. but if you have prior experience. you shoulddnt have to much trouble. i see so many videos of people that have small hiccups when setting up a model for the first time, but that can sometimes throw ya off and make you think its going to be difficult, so i tend to only focus on what im working on whether its setting up a plane,heli,drone, boat etc etc..alot of the issues i see people have i dont seem have trouble. theres almost always a tutorial video you can find on here with any issue you have...spend the time and effort flying,..... ditch he latest and greatest product or hype is my advice

[@Mr89Falcon]

This is just pure wizardry! I am a 787 Dreamliner pilot and we spend many hours in the simulator performing upset recoveries over time. I’ve always told my fellow pilots that there is technology available in RC AIRPLANES that would recover the aircraft as good or better than we do! This is a classic demonstration of exactly that. Thanks for this outstanding showcase of this technology 👍👍

[@RCVideoReviews]

Appreciate the insights and comment. Thank you. It's kind of funny you mentioned your full size experience in unusual attitude recovery. I made the comment to Fred at the field: The Hobby Eagle auto-level is so buttery smooth--it doesn't "snap" like other gyros. It reminds me of when my FI used to show me how to recover unusual attitudes. It's not a violent recovery, but it corrects with purpose--smooth and immediate. FYI: The gyro also recovered a couple of inverted descending and rolling tests I tried before we started filming.

[@Mr89Falcon]

Full disclosure: We have (and have had for many years) the ability to land a full-size aircraft completely autonomously in Zero-Zero conditions. In fact, now it is MANDATORY to autoland when visibility is beneath a certain minimum. To give away this one last ability of pilots to be able to say that they were the ones that saved the day would probably be a bridge too far.😂😂

[@burntnougat5341]

The matek units are slick. The new speedybee f405 wing seems like a smash hit for beginners and planes like this

[@TheFeday]

Exactly right, I got two of them in last week, and they're perfect for this. Hopefully that'll keep my old man from crashing :)

[@RCVideoReviews]

Yes, same logic can be used with FCs. I'm sure it would work great in that configuration too.

[@bulufish8208]

U r always a great service to our hobby. Thank you for simplicity with the video 📹

[@RCVideoReviews]

You're welcome. I appreciate the kind comment. Thank you.

[@Yogenh]

Looks like a great setup for when helping someone who is just starting

[@RCVideoReviews]

I think so. Could be very helpful in a 3D trainer too.....hmmmm.....

[@RubyS.1]

Pretty neat logic. I really like the a3 super 4 far more advanced than i thought they would be especially for the money

[@RCVideoReviews]

One of the best kept secrets out there. Sssshhhhhh.... :)

[@davidpaker626]

that will be very Helpful for a lot of people. Not only beginners but even experienced pilots when they get in front of the sun. You can't see the airplane ,clouds ,atmospheric conditions where you get Disoriented. at times. I see a lot of potential Even for experience. Pilots with very expensive airplanes, good job.

[@RCVideoReviews]

I knew you'd see the bigger picture on this. I already have two more airframes in mind to do some additional experimentation.

[@davidpaker626]

​@@RCVideoReviews 👍

[@FlankerTanker]

Love these Bixlers still fly my Bixler 2 and 3...

[@RCVideoReviews]

My too, I've had several variations of all three: 1.1, 2, 3. Good airframes.

[@williamcox3852]

This is something I need since my reactions and ability to fly have diminished because of my age. This will really help John and I will have to trim everything for the type of plane I fly. Keep up the good work John and Freddie.

[@RCVideoReviews]

I know you could work this out. Just remember to tune a little. On my tuning, I started with gentle descents to my test altitude to invoke the trigger and evaluate the throttle/pitch response. That's also when I figured out I needed a higher telemetry rate on ELRS. If you spend the time tuning, you'll be rewarded with a nice recovery option.

[@hspeed3656]

Very cool setup John. Keep coming up with these awesome suggestions and programming . Love that Edge Tx allows for this.

[@RCVideoReviews]

Right? Amazing firmware!

[@markdrury7879]

fantastic!

[@RCVideoReviews]

Thanks!

[@RcBuddy]

Amazing job, well done.

[@RCVideoReviews]

Thank you.

[@jlarson42]

Cool tool. Worked really well. Very good explanation, I'm not great with edgetx. But I was able to follow the flow. 👍🤓

[@RCVideoReviews]

Thanks John. Yes, very nice configuration. I may try this on other airframes too.

[@matsomsariphee9986]

good work. cheers

[@RCVideoReviews]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@bosshog2328]

I have some ideals on how to improve on your setup so that the plane would recover even when inverted. However, recovery height would have to be increased. Something for me to play with. Nice video.

[@RCVideoReviews]

It recovered while inverted. We did some pre-filming tests and the inverted recovery worked the same as non-inverted. :)

[@bosshog2328]

Awh, you thought of everything! Great job!!!

[@FASTFREDDIE-R.C.]

Can’t wait to level up

[@RCVideoReviews]

You already have bud.

[@jimn6sxb644]

Excellent presentation John. Good job keeping the logic straight forward and simple. I happen to have an A3 Super 4 laying around that I just might try this on a new 3D plane I'll be putting together soon. I'm no 3D pilot and can use the help. Have you ever explored using a gyro to assist an intermediate pilot in the maiden flights of a challenging plane? I'm thinking more of the take-off and landing parts of the maiden flight.

[@RCVideoReviews]

Thanks Jim. I don't make a habit of using gyros on maidens. I like to ensure the plane is setup right first. After I've validated the airframe, I get the plane up high and activate the gyro to evaluate gain, control surface movements, and gyro level calibration. It would be somewhat disconcerting to take off on a maiden only to find out your gain is too high and the controls start to oscillate, or your gyro calibration is off and the plane noses down hard. When the mechanics of the model are validated, and the gyro has been tested at altitude, I see no reason you couldn't use auto-level to manage roll/yaw while you deal with throttle and pitch.

[@Cre8ionz.]

Interesting feature ! haven`t watched it yet tho..

[@Perry_Wolf]

So, just wondering, if you wanted to do a nice easy, and almost hands off take-off, couldn't you just throw into Hard Deck Enabled and toss it into the air, where it would simply climb to 140ft?

[@RCVideoReviews]

You could. Just be aware, if you do that, it will start the motor as soon as you turn off your throttle lock.

[@roadstar499]

Very cool just over the top...if you can just hit a switch that auto levels if you lose orientation thats great..also for me i would have saved several planes if there was a button that made plane fly back to my location...unfortunately for some reason no matter how many times i tell myself i will not fly to far away i do it every so often and pay the price..😢.😢😢

[@electricflyer81]

I think that this setup would be great for teaching my grandson to learn to fly. If you could provide the EdgeTx configuration, I would greatly appreciate it.

[@RCVideoReviews]

It's pinned on discord in the #edgetx channel as mentioned in the video. The configuration works really well. I'm pleased with the outcome.

[@alexherrera3918]

Is it possible to build something like launch flight mode, that just allows throttle to be used and a max angle of about 25 degrees that help just for taking off a plane . Thanks

[@RCVideoReviews]

Yes. I do that for certain winds. No gyro/vario is necessary for this.

[@Mr89Falcon]

Meant to ask you...the altitude...is it in AGL or MSL? I'm assuming that it's uncorrected barometric MSL, as it doesn't have a radio altimeter, right? Kind of important information to address for each person's setup/location!

[@RCVideoReviews]

It's barometric pressure. This is part of that tuning process. Fly, visually decide where you want the deck to be, look at telemetry, adjust according to what you see. Honestly, I didn't spend any time correlating for location. My main objective was to observe consistent behavior which you well know can change with conditions.

[@Mr89Falcon]

@@RCVideoReviews Now I'm confused. By that do you mean MSL? Barometric pressure is measured in HPA or in HG. You have "feet" as a measurement, not inches mercury in the radio programming field

[@Double-D_291]

Where’s the Discord link?

[@Poundy]

so you think the Bix2 is a step up from the FMS hi-wing trainer? Wow, I wouldn't have thought that. As a low hours pilot, with an original v1 Bixler that has done the lions share of my recent hours, I'm surprised by that, pleasantly surprised, guess I'll avoid going for a hi wing trainer as my next plane 😄 I have a Phoenix 2400 glider that I've already maidened but have not had weather suitable to fly it more than the first few circuits and was thinking I wanted something in between the two to really build my skills

[@RCVideoReviews]

The high wing trainers have dihedral and are a little more draggy. The Bix2 is a straight wing--so no inherent stability--and it's very slick, so it scoots through the air pretty quickly. Trainers can fly slow and give newer pilots more time to think things through while offering the advantage of inherent stability. When they're setup right, they try to fly straight and level. The Bix doesn't mind entering a turn and staying there. Also, it's a somewhat flat side profile, so orientation wise, it is definitely more challenging than the high wing trainers.

[@jimn6sxb644]

@@RCVideoReviews And the Bixler v1 gets downright snappy in roll when you clip the wings almost to the edge of the ailerons. Flies great upside down too. So, yes the Bix1 or 2 can be a great plane for advancing skills.

[@cwwisk]

I have been using a TX16S with EdgeTX (and OpenTX before that) for as long as the TX16S has been around. I just bought a Tandem X20S and feel like there are definitely some upgrades, and some potentially better things (haven't had time to test it), but EthOS seems very slow compared to EdgeTX. I almost get so bored setting up a model that I just give up and wait to keep setting it up until some other time... any thoughts on EthOS or the TD line of receivers? What about the 24 channel SBUS of ACCESS and later?

[@cwwisk]

Btw... I do use ELRS on my TX16S still. I'm waiting on a module adapter and some testing on the TD MX to compare systems.

[@RCVideoReviews]

I don't support FrSky or their gear. I don't care for their business and marketing practices. My opinion: Dump their gear and firmware in favor of EdgeTX and more community oriented manufacturers.

[@RCVideoReviews]

In fact, I'm in the process of removing the very last FrSky gear from my hangar. I have a stack of S6Rs, S8Rs, and L9Rs I'm trying to unload. If you're interested, ping me on discord.

[@cwwisk]

@@RCVideoReviews I have a bunch too. I'll see, though. Haha

[@cwwisk]

@@RCVideoReviews I honestly don't support their marketing practices any more than Spektrum or Futaba, and I'm a huge fan of open-source stuff. That's why I'm keeping my TX16S. Their dual-band tandem links looked interesting, though. If their new stuff wasn't supposedly the best of both 2.4 and 900, I'd not have spent the money. But on the other hand, if it performs with lower latency than 915mhz ELRS, alone, then I think I'll do that for long range.

[@superdow1000]

Did you consider using a knob to control the altitude at which auto level would be triggered?

[@superdow1000]

also a 150 foot trigger point seems high, how low do you think you can set it on the plane you were testing so that it would recover 90 percent of potential crash situations? the worst case scenario is probably a vertical descent at high speed

[@RCVideoReviews]

Tune to taste. I set it up this way to ensure I had a reading from telemetry. As I continue to test, I will probably increase the telemetry rate and decrease the hard deck to find the limits. The objective--of course--is to ensure the telemetry data triggers the switch in time for the gyro to recover. This is precisely what I meant in the video about taking the time to tune based on your setup. I can use knobs and/or switches to set GVs, but logical switches do not allow for sensor data comparison to GV, so I haven't found a way to use a dynamic floor/ceiling.

[@RCVideoReviews]

The last couple of tests I ran were vertical descents at some speed (not full throttle) with a turn, and there was no issue. Again, it comes down to telemetry rate and enough gain on the gyro to get the job done quickly. I tested inverted recovery off camera, and it worked too.

[@alexherrera3918]

can i do something similar using the Radiomaster receive ER6GV that has a vario? ( it does not have a gyro).

[@RCVideoReviews]

Not really. The configuration depends on knowing the altitude.

[@alexherrera3918]

@@RCVideoReviews But the ER^GV has a altitude included " V" , that is why my question. Thanks

[@RCVideoReviews]

After using altitude to trigger, the gyro does the work of correcting.

[@alexherrera3918]

@@RCVideoReviews good to know. thanks for testing it. i will use the one you have in your video or i just get an aura 5. many thanks!!!

[@Double-D_291]

⁠@@RCVideoReviewsthis was my question too after watching this. The ER6GV plus Hobbyeagle A3 should work though, right? The vario triggers the altitude and the A3 gyro recovers?

[@MiteyF]

Funny, you asked Jesus for help, and it was the exact OPPOSITE of Jesus that worked. Logical thinking trumps religion every single time.

[@murrijuana2842]

But it still worked. Also, Jesus isn't a religion. He wasn't asked a religion for help.

[@bugsy742]

👍

[@Mr89Falcon]

Sounds like you have an anti-Jesus axe to grind…why you chose this venue is really odd.