| Wattflyer RC Network: RC Universe :: RCU Magazine :: RCU Forums :: RCU Classifieds :: RCU User Reviews :: RCU YouTube |
![]() |
![]() |
|
|||||||
| Register | Members List | Wattflyer Extras | Articles | Search | Today's Posts | Mark Forums Read | Social Groups | Photo Gallery |
| Aerial Photography Discuss all aerial photography topics as they relate to rc aircraft |
| Thank you for your support (hide ads) | |
|
|
|
![]() |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
|
#1 | ||
|
Member
iTrader: (1)
Friends: (1)
|
I've posted a similar thread in RCGroups, but I wanted to share some cool stuff here too. About a week ago I lost a Funjet to radio interference. The fields surrounding our runway are extremely thick with brush. In some places it's like trying to crawl thru a chain-link fence. In other areas, reeds tower over you as you struggle thru thigh-deep water. I searched the area I thought the Funjet was lost in for 2 days, but I made very little progress. By the third day I had re-installed some new hardware in my Twinstar and sent her up with the camera. After the second sortie she returnd with several pictures that clearly showed the position of the plane; farther from the field than I thought, but quite easy to reach. the airframe was badly damaged, but I managed to fix it, and it is flying today.
Just this morning I searched an area suggested to me by another frequent flier. The brush was also quite thick there, and the pictures I took only had one clue. It turned out to be the airplane in question. If the wing had not been ripped off, I doubt there would have been a trace from the air. I think the plane is 100% repairable without too much effort. |
||
|
|
|
|
#2 | ||
|
Super Contributor
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: so calif
Posts: 11,075
Thanked 1,052 Times in 1,008 Posts
Club: Chino Renegades RC Flying Club
iTrader: (4)
Friends: (215)
|
Hi Areo
if your on 72 MHz, use a Berg receiver, and you may never ever have any Radio Interference again, they are in a league all there own, its all i use now, its like having a 2.4 radio, as your receiver will lock onto your transmitter, even if some one else is on your channel.use a small piece of scotch tape on all micro receivers to hold the crystal in place and tape the antenna to the receiver, lay it on the receiver and use some fiberglass straping tape, that will keep the antenna from ever wanting to pull out of the receiver, just incase of a hard landing, only use Berg crystals with a Berg receiver, I Like the 4L receiver, hope that helps, Chelliehttp://www.bphobbies.com/view.asp?id=V457587 http://www.castlecreations.com/suppo...user_guide.pdf |
||
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
#3 | ||
|
Member
iTrader: (1)
Friends: (1)
|
Here's a few more I found! I've since recovered an electric F-35, a small electric model called a Mach 9, and an OS .60 powered Ugly Stick that is 100% intact. The pilot could not be happier! The Ugly Stick fell into some very thick reeds and never touched the ground, the F-35 was not as lucky, but contained several expensive undamaged parts. The Mach 9 was wing deep in soft dirt, when we pulled it out we were surprised to see the nose was intact! It needs a little work, but appears repairable.
|
||
|
|
|
|
#4 | ||
|
Member
iTrader: (0)
Friends: (0)
|
Holy Moly! That's just awesome! Every thought about joining the CIA and getting into image analysis?
|
||
|
|
|
|
#5 | ||
|
AMA Park Pilot Partner
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Cheswold, DE
Posts: 1,605
Thanked 68 Times in 68 Posts
Club: Central Delaware Parkflyers Association
iTrader: (2)
Friends: (10)
|
Very impressive!! You guys sure loose ALOT of planes!
|
||
|
A.M.A Park Pilot Partner / Wattflyer Mentor
|
|||
|
|
|
|
#6 | ||
|
475.96 hours logged...
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 3,735
Thanked 169 Times in 161 Posts
Club: Flown 517 days in a row!
iTrader: (2)
Friends: (23)
|
LOL -- that sounds like the tree that eats Charlie Brown's kite. I would stop flying at that location.
|
||
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
#7 | ||
|
Super Contributor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Shadeville Fl,
Posts: 4,729
Thanked 392 Times in 375 Posts
Club: Mullet Mauroders
iTrader: (1)
Friends: (69)
|
Way cool!! bubsteve
|
||
|
Monkey Minion'air
|
|||
|
|
|
|
#8 | ||
|
Member
iTrader: (1)
Friends: (1)
|
Originally Posted by rdlb23
There are a few tricks for finding what you're looking for, be it an RC airplane or a covert missile silo. Narrow down the seach area as much as possible. Don't fly too high while taking photos, higher than 50-75ft and the details become too small. At least one photo of your target needs to have some sort of landmark in the frame to guide you to the wreck.
In some cases the plane is smiling right back at you. The Mach 9 couldn't have been any more obvious. In one photo of the Ugly Stick, the maltese cross was visible. The Funjet is a color not found in nature in that area. In some cases you might only see a small piece of the plane, but if that piece is a sharp polygon in a color that doesn't match the terrain, it's definitely man-made. |
||
|
|
|
|
#9 | ||
|
Member
iTrader: (0)
Friends: (0)
|
I don't know f you have photoshop but there are some tricks you can use to highlight items that don't belong. Its frequently used to double check for fraud it the publication of scientific photographs.
You can desaturate/oversaturate certain color groups (photo 1), inverting the image will bring out some things (photo 2), or you can use increased contrast in black and white, by adding alot of red and subtracting blue or vice versa.(photo 3) It seems like its no big deal because you already know where the plane is in the picture, but it totally works and you can get really good at it. I'm not good at it I just know about it, my friend is a graphic designer for a scientific journal in NY and she does these checks all the time. Shes got it super fine tuned and can find the smallest flaws in high resolution stuff... ![]() ![]() ![]() As you can see from the pictures, sometimes things get highlighted that aren't crashed planes. |
||
|
|
|
|
#10 | ||
|
Bank Robber
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Wilton, CA
Posts: 622
Thanked 17 Times in 16 Posts
iTrader: (1)
Friends: (2)
|
Dude... I think you have discovered the Bermuda triangle of RC Fields.
|
||
|
_______________________
James AMA # 20876 |
|||
|
|
|
|
#11 | ||
|
Super Contributor
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,030
Thanked 44 Times in 44 Posts
iTrader: (0)
Friends: (1)
|
Looking at the terrain, there's probably things that go "rattle-rattle" when you walk thru.
I'd not go too far into that stuff myself, looking for a plane. |
||
|
|
|
|
#12 | ||
|
Community Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Mesa, AZ
Posts: 4,556
Thanked 151 Times in 146 Posts
Club: Arizona WingNutz
iTrader: (2)
Friends: (19)
|
Ace, you are the man with your recovery skills! I know that Gary is very happy you found his F-35.
This is Bennett Field in Las Vegas (well, Henderson really). It's right next to Sam K Boyd stadium where UNLV plays football. I have flown there twice now, but have been fortunate enough not to have had a plane go down in the "swamp". I was there a few weeks ago at the Ace In The Hole electric fly-in, and watched the F-35 go in (I was taking video at the time as well). I went out with the owner and searched for quite a while. The weeds out there are so thick you could literally walk right by the plane and not know it. And believe me, I was carrying a big stick with me to herd off any wild critters I came across! I'm working on a combo AP/FPV setup on a Slow Stick. I got my FPV mount from Blue Sky RC. I just need to get a decent FPV outfit, most of which will come from Range Video. No goggles yet as I have a video camera and laptop that will be dedicated to the system. Not real keen on flying true FPV right now, but that may change in the future. I just can't drop $225 on goggles right now. My plan is to overfly the suspected impact area (not using FPV), and have an observer looking at the laptop screen. The camera will be pointed almost straight down so that planes can be spotted from directly overhead. If they see something of interest, I can then orbit the area, get a closer look, then send out searchers on foot once a plane is spotted. And if we spot something while flying low, I can then gain altitude so that the observer can get a good triangulation on the crash site. I hope to put this plan to the test next year. |
||
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
#13 | ||
|
Member
iTrader: (1)
Friends: (1)
|
I have a few more planes to find far out into some extremely tall reeds. It's tough to see stuff in there from an angle so I have re-mounted the camera pointing straight down on a MPX Acromaster. The plan is to fly in a straight line starting from a landmark and re-create a path to the wreck from there.
I got a blip today, but with the angle the camera was mounted in, I couldn't figure out exactly where to look. |
||
|
|
|
|
#14 | ||
|
Community Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Mesa, AZ
Posts: 4,556
Thanked 151 Times in 146 Posts
Club: Arizona WingNutz
iTrader: (2)
Friends: (19)
|
Wow, that just goes to show how bad it is. Looks like just the tailplane in that pic. Would be almost impossible to spot from 100' up.
|
||
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
#15 | ||
|
Member
iTrader: (1)
Friends: (1)
|
This one was the toughest to find once I was on the ground, but also the most rewarding. There is no damage to the plane, other than a completely discharged lipo. I flew it the next day! From the air, I thought I had spotted a Tiger II several people saw go down. It turned out to be an E-flite Extra-260 that I didn't know was back there. There was no name or AMA number on the plane.
I cleaned it up with a damp rag and shook all the insects out. I found a tiny scorpion, but his tail was broken off. I've swapped out the rudder servo for more torque, and added a pilot. Hans may have become an ace in a BF-109, but he has become proficient in the Extra as well.
|
||
|
|
|
|
#16 | ||
|
Member
iTrader: (3)
Friends: (6)
|
I'll be interested in seeing the pictures of the rightful owner getting that EXTRA 260 BACK from you. THOSE are the pictures I hope you post next! Nothing could be better than the smiling face of a pilot getting a lost plane back!! RIGHT?? RIGHT!!!
Hillbille |
||
|
It isn't the mistake that causes the crash - it the time it takes to realize that it WAS a mistake!!
AMA884978
|
|||
|
|
|
|
#17 | ||
|
475.96 hours logged...
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 3,735
Thanked 169 Times in 161 Posts
Club: Flown 517 days in a row!
iTrader: (2)
Friends: (23)
|
Well, I think it suffices to say that lots of pilots have lost lots of planes at that field, and I will NEVER fly there!
|
||
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
#18 | ||
|
Member
iTrader: (1)
Friends: (1)
|
It's such a nice field it's hard to fly anywhere else, especially since I live so close. I got in touch with the owner today and he'll be getting it back with his name on it.
|
||
|
|
|
|
#19 | ||
|
Member
iTrader: (3)
Friends: (6)
|
Great job!! Happy to see it all worked out for everyone!!
Lieutenant Loughead - The fifth picture of post #3 says a lot about going out in the area know as "the swamp"! Believe me when I say Aero Ace Ace takes his well being in hand when he venturs into that!! It is nasty!! The idea is NOT to go astray of the field!! LOL!! Hey AAA - Post the picture of Bennett field you took before AITH. It shows the field and surrounding area. Like AAA said it is a GREAT place to fly. Hillbille |
||
|
It isn't the mistake that causes the crash - it the time it takes to realize that it WAS a mistake!!
AMA884978
|
|||
|
|
|
|
#20 | ||
|
Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 838
Thanked 31 Times in 30 Posts
iTrader: (1)
Friends: (3)
|
I recently lost a plane in the woods. I've got a camera on the way, hopefully I'll be able to find it now! I've spent a few hours searching from the ground with no luck, but from the air might help. I'm just worried that now that all the leaves have fallen its buried for ever.
|
||
|
|
|
|
#21 | ||
|
Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 52
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
iTrader: (0)
Friends: (0)
|
|
||
|
|
![]() |
|
| Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads
|
||||
| Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
| I just lost my first airplane - UPDATE: PLANE FOUND! | mikeyv | Beginners | 37 | 04-17-2009 09:14 PM |
| Lost PLane with FlyCamOne v2 found | Crash9 | Aerial Photography | 27 | 04-15-2009 06:23 AM |
| Oh I'm so lost :p | Giedi_Prime | Beginners - Helis | 19 | 03-07-2008 01:04 AM |
| Lost in field, what would YOU do? | rcdaedalus | Beginners | 6 | 04-25-2007 09:22 PM |
| Lost Plane? | RSS Feed | RCU RSS Feed | 1 | 08-27-2006 02:54 PM |