Multiplex EasyStar
I recently purchased a $24 ArduPilot circuit board from Sparkfun. I have tried to document my early experience using this unique Open Source Autopilot. The board comes from Sparkfun without any 0.1″ header pins so it is up to the end user to do some soldering.
ArduPilot Circuit Board
Today I just completed with my brother, Russell, our most adventurous and complex aerial video from our Multiplex Easy Star model airplane. The video is called “An Aerial Exploration of West Dover” and it is a ride high above West Dover, Nova Scotia. It was filmed in 720p High Definition video.
The airplane was controlled by a 72 MHz Hitec Optic 6 R/C radio and flown using a 900 MHz video link which provided a FPV ( First Person View ). This video was recorded on August 18, 2010 in 720p HD with a Canon Powershot SD780IS Camera with CHDK.
The music used in the video was “Un instant per sempre” and “Our Moon” composed by Roger Subirana Mata.
If you are on High Speed Internet make sure to enable the 720p resolution video option on the lower right of the video controls so you will be able to see all sorts of fine detail.
West Dover Harbour
Privateer's Island
The View of Privateer's Island Looking Towards Mackerel Cove
Power's Lake, West Dover
Today I did an experiment, at sunrise with my Uncle and Brother, where we used a Multiplex Easystar to film by FPV video an aerial chase sequence following a 6 foot Homemade Super Zagi around the skies of West Dover, Nova Scotia, Canada. Here is the edited result:
This is an aerial flight over West Dover, Nova Scotia taken on Mar. 17, 2010
by a Multiplex Twinstar model airplane. The video was transmitted by a 0.5 watt 900 MHz video link using a 8 dBi patch antenna on the ground.
April 2009 Model Airplane Flight Over Peggy’s Cove from Andrew Hazelden on Vimeo.
This is footage from a model airplane flight over Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia. Taken on April 17, 2009 using a Multiplex Easystar model airplane.
Last weekend I experimented with taking a digital aerial photo mosaic. The area covered by the mosaic image is a little over 22 acres.
I used my modified Multiplex Twinstar II model airplane with a Canon Powershot digital camera. The camera was set up with the CHDK firmware and a simple basic script to take a photo every 1.5 seconds. The camera looked downwards through a lens sized hole in the airplane’s wing. The plane has a FMA direct Co-Pilot flight stabilizer to keep the plane level and reduce wing rocking.
