Expanded Shop = More Projects!

Recently, I remodeled part of the basement and added more workshop space. (Honestly, it was completely my wife's idea.) In doing so, I now have more space for more projects!

Two projects currently underway: a Monitor S11 from Destiny and a Zelda Master Sword. This is my first attempt at more advanced prop-making and so far I'm happy with the results. I have found that painting is way more difficult that I had anticipated.

Pine Armory

Over the Summer, my son Jakob asked if I could build him a toy gun from Halo. Since I primarily work with wood, I decided to give it a shot. My first build was a "Suppressor" rifle followed by a sniper rifle with a spring-loaded slide.

I had so much fun building the guns that I decided to try to sell some on Etsy:

HobbyKing FPV250

Over the weekend I received my 250-size mini quad from HobbyKing and quickly set to putting it together. Compared to my scratch-build 450 size quad, this thing is super fast and maneuverable!

I'm still nervous about flying FPV in my neighborhood for fear that I will run into something or somebody. With a little more practice and some bravery I should be able to get out there and race.

Good Day to Fly

I managed to get out to the field a couple of weekends ago with my friends Trent and Greg. I got my FT22 and Blunt-nose Versa maidened and flew my quad with FPV. Below is a video of my FT22.

Just Plane Obsessed

FT 22, Versa, and Blunt-Nose Versa with FPV gear

The compartments are handy for a clean, professional look -- even though this is foam board!

Fat Shark FPV camera and TX installed in the wing.

Hibernation

As the weather starts to thaw, I feel like I am crawling out of a deep dark cave where I've been hibernating. Granted, over the frigid winter I've spent time on various projects - Jeep upgrade (plus frozen creek adventures), BOEBot, Arduino, a bed for my thirddaughter, a quadcopter rebuild, and various foam airplanes. I've even spent some time on an R/C trainer to try and hone my skills. Still -- the darkness had me feeling unproductive and unmotivated.

Now it's time to wake up and get stuff done!

My recently completed FT-22.

Lately I've gotten into flying my quadcopter with FPV goggles from FatShark. Unfortunately for me, it's been like re-learning how to fly. Orientation, altitude -- all complicated until I can get used to flying by visual reference instead of looking at the quad itself.

I did have a chance over the weekend to do some indoor flying at a local gym. It really helped to tune my quad without interference from the wind.

Quadcopters and FPV gear.

Light it up!

My friend Tim gave me a two foot long strip of RGB LED's a while back and I've been planning to add them to the inside of one of my foam planes to light it up at night. Being impatient, I wired up a harness and attached two small strips to the front of my quadcopter instead. The result is stunning -- super bright! I just don't know how much of a drain it will have on the battery.