XK A600 DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver

XK A600 with 6G is a 6-axis gyro DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver single-engine, high-wing, propeller-driven airplane. Notably the DHC-2 was designed as a short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft, widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft.  XK brings the model A-600 to life with this fun RC electric model of the DHC-2, with 10 minutes of flight time, on an attractive orange and white paint scheme.  ■ dronemission.com

Market Segment

Beginners, Park Flyers, Ready To Fly, Collectors, Budget $78 (source: GearBest Oct 2016)

What To Expect If This Your First Flight

You can easily spend 15 minutes on each flight, setting up and flying. The actual flight may last 8-10 minutes. On a Mode 2 radio transmitter, throttle stick is on the left.

Power on your radio transmitter first, make sure your throttle stick is at the lowest point.  Check to make sure all your switches are up (position 0). Connect your battery to your plane, lay the plane flat on a hard surface immediately. This will allow the plane to self-level the gyroscope.

Once you have successfully bind with the radio, the sticks come to live.

Practice taking off and landing on a runway using a flight simulator, this will help you tremendously with your final approach.  Use rudder to keep the plane in a straight line and use throttle to control your rate of descent.  Keep in mind the throttle is mixed with the elevator.  More throttle will ascend this plane.  I take-off with 6G but usually find it easier to land in 3d mode on the final approach, because of the mixed-in elevator and throttle

Flight Characteristics

There are two flight modes, Stabilize (6G) and Aerobatics (3D).  You change the modes by pressing down on the aileron right stick.  Since it uses the Futaba® Radio Control Systems, you can easily use a compatible radio transmitter as a substitute.  No mixing is needed, as they are programmed into the flight controller.

You can loop, fly inverted and roll with ease in 3D mode but yet the gyro will keep it locked on course and compensate for any wind.

In 6G mode, the A-600 has it aileron and rudder pre-mixed to provide a smooth and gentle coordinated turn.   Adding more rudder will give you a very sharp turn. When you throttle up, the elevator pitches up gently to ascend, therefore you may find yourself needing to pitch down just a little during landing, as you will need some speed to prevent it from stalling while landing.  Your challenge is to keep the speed as constant as possible and descending as slow as possible without stalling.

In 6G it will not let you exceed 45 degrees angle to perform any aerobatics.

The A-600 handles 10 mph winds well, which allows you to hover in the air for an extended period of time or even fly backwards

Opinions

Xk A600 categorized as a entry level RC Plane, durable, and aerobatic.  In terms of ranking, we would say it is in the top 3 budget favorites in this category as recorded Oct 2016.  A positive recommendation for dealers.  An update to follow.   (Current Picks dronemission.com/top5).

Mobius Mini Camera

Mobius Mini at 27 grams is a major achievement, filming at 1080p 60fps with an amazingly low latency for FPV.  You can almost add this mobiusmini camera to any 150 size quadcopter or 800mm airplane.  We took it for a test flight, compare it with the FireflyQ6, unbox it and review the design.

Wow…  MobiusMini has a very low latency! had a good flight with the mini and have included the latency test results. Says a fraction of a thousandth of a second, subject to your own interpretation. See for yourself and pause your screen to subtract. A snapshot is a frame in time, regardless of what you are viewing with.

Continue reading Mobius Mini Camera

Firefly 7S HAWK-EYE

HAWK-EYE Aerial Video Technology is known for it’s ultra vivid cameras with GYRO image stabilization. The Firefly 7S 4K FPV action sports camera camcorder is the latest entry into the market with a 2 inch LCD screen. This comes as a nice surprise, following suit the recent Mobius-looking Q6 camera that is taking the market by storm this month. With the LCD screen, it allows you to see what you are filming; at times you only get one chance on a shot, and not seeing what you are filming, can be a  disappointment if you missed that only shot.

HAWK-EYE Aerial Video Technology series of cameras took the challenge to GoPro with a third of the price, putting GoPro in a tough spot. This round, a new challenger to it’s rival, Git2.

Continue reading Firefly 7S HAWK-EYE

AOMWAY FPV 200mW 700TVL AV Transmitter

If you are looking for a quick way to view the world from the sky, the Aomway Mini video transmitter packs 200mW of ultra clean 5.8GHz power in a micro sized video/audio package integrated with a 700 TVL camera.  That’s right Plug N Play FPV! and at 19 grams!

First Impression,  love the fact that it is plug and play.  Easy to use, just deciding how you want to power this FPV gear is the only challenge you may have or maybe not.  It comes pre-wired with a standard JST battery plug, allowing you to use any battery type, not limiting to AA or LiPo.

Continue reading AOMWAY FPV 200mW 700TVL AV Transmitter

Eleven Hobby F8F Bearcat 1100mm

Lots of buzz about the Eleven Hobby Bearcat F8F recently.  The Bearcat has always been a favorite warbird but few models have been made for it.  Bearcat F8F is one of the best looking and famous wings that served the US Navy.  It was designed primarily as an interceptor-fighter and this model is docile yet commanding presence in the air. It arrived today, tight, protected and double boxed.  For those who are still guessing who is Eleven Hobby, their recent T-28 was very well received. It comes as no surprise to some, as Eleven Hobby shares it’s affiliation with FMS, a leading manufacturer of RC Planes.

First Impression,  the Eleven Hobby Bearcat F8F asssembly was easy and fast, the cuts are precise and snugly fitted, bolt down the wings and horizontal stabilizer with 6 screws and the rest is adding your receiver and programming your radio.  Wingspan is a perfect 1100mm (43.3in) that fits into a typical car boot (trunk).  Optional gluing needed, if you plan to add the wing cannons. It is very tail heavy, but you have some room to move everything to the front. I would not recommend this plane unless you are a experienced pilot, as it is not easy to fly.

Continue reading Eleven Hobby F8F Bearcat 1100mm

FireFly 6S Camera breakthrough

Firefly 6S WiFi 4K camera is an excellent entry into action camera sport DV camcorder.  A relative unknown company that had the right ingredients to success. Hawk Eye is known to focus it’s effort on budget FPV action sports camera, has made this 4k version of the camera following the recent 1080p release. Similar to it’s sibling, it carries a Sony CMOS 12.0MP sensor, but with the addition of 4k and GYRO image stabilization.  Since it is a camera, a video is worth a thousand words, here is a day wth this camera…

Our initial test tells us this is a keeper, regardless if it shoots at 4K, the 1080P 60 FPS is fantastically vibrant and with GYRO image stabilization. If you do not own a GoPro, this is definitely an alternate Action Sports HD camera designed ready for radio control first person view (FPV) flying. The menu system is simple and easy to use. Hawk Eye has a clear understanding of usability, keeping the functions organized and reachable when needed. We hope to get some personal footage of the 4k soon. We like that the fact everything worked out of the box…

Continue reading FireFly 6S Camera breakthrough

Volantex Ranger 757-4

TODAY I am going to take a look at the Volantax Ranger 757-4 that we purchased online for just over a $100. The 757-4 is a scale down version of the popular 2m Ranger Ex 757-3. It is resized to 1.4m 1380mm, just small enough to fit into a standard size car trunk/boot without taking it apart.

One of the more interesting feature of the plane is that it is designed for GoPro or FPV cameras.. it comes tail heavy, so you can install multiple fpv cameras and large batteries. A weight is even included in the event you are not ready to fly with a camera. We had to fly it with a 3S 5000 mAh LiPo battery without a GoPro weight on the front, to get the correct center of gravity (CG). It is quick, easy to assemble, no glue is required…

Continue reading Volantex Ranger 757-4

GitUp Git1 Action Camera

Synopsis: 2015 year of the sports camera.  GitUp series is one of those recent low cost 1080p breakthrough that caught the attention of casual photographers, enthusiasts and critics alike. Weighing only 64g, it successfully fitted a 1.5 inches LCD viewing screen and yet kept within the standard size for use on a GoPro gimbal. The LCD allows you to see what you are filming; at times you only get one chance on a shot, and not seeing what you are filming, can be a bummer if you missed half of it.  Here is our day with this camera on a impossible mission or was that mission impossible…

The Git1 manages to find room to include Wi-Fi capabilities that can be set-up if you have a smartphone or tablet that supports wifi. In addition, you can connect your favorite 3.5mm Stereo external microphone, which means you don’t have to hear your heavy breathing or wind sound on a windy day…

Continue reading GitUp Git1 Action Camera

Skyzone SKY-700D FPV Diversity Monitor DVR 32CH

If you are looking for a bright 7 inch perfect size FPV monitor in 2015, look no futher, the Skyzone SKY-700D monitor DVR has a built-in dual receiver that automatically adjust for the best reception aka Automatic Antenna Switching. No blue screen with a folding sunshade.

The AV in and AV out allows you to use additional accessories, such as a second monitor, FPV glasses or a different receiver. With 32 channels, it covers a wide range for video transmitter out in the market…

Continue reading Skyzone SKY-700D FPV Diversity Monitor DVR 32CH

2-Axis Brushless Camera Gimbal CNC for GoPro

Synopsis: We have been looking for a quality gimbal for aerial filming, to allow us to survey an area with camera stabilization. There are probably over 20 selections of gimbals out in the market in 2014, notably the expensive Dji Zenmus and Tarot gimbals. We wanted a gimbal that has a motion processing unit to stabilize our camera while in flight. Working with Hobbywow.com, we have decided to test this unbranded but quality gimbal to see how it fair.

We selected the FPV 2-Axis Brushless Camera Gimbal w/ Motor & Controller for DJI Phantom Gopro 3. This selection is based on the budget price, it’s stand-alone built ready to use controller that can be installed on any aircraft with any light weight pocket camera, the GUI software SimpleBGC and performance…

Continue reading 2-Axis Brushless Camera Gimbal CNC for GoPro