Re: [Paparazzi-devel] Can you suggest a suitable UAV for Taipei?

[John Burt]

I'm a Paparazzi newbie too, but have been flying RC for many years. It 
seems to me that there are at least two issues that may be most 
important for determining the airframe you use.

First, before you touch an autopilot, you need to learn how to fly a 
model aircraft. I don't think you can configure, test, and operate any 
UAV without at least basic flight proficiency. If there is nobody there 
who can help you learn, then I suggest you invest in a flight simulator 
first and put some hours in. Assuming you stay with fixed wing aircraft, 
when you are ready to start flying, you will want to select an aircraft 
that is slow and stable, and cheap (you will crash a lot, so don't waste 
your money). Second, as you noted, your intended flying environment 
(Taipei) suggests you get an aircraft that can be flown from a small 
park. That's what the RTF Park Flyer genre was made for.

Assuming that you don't fly on very windy days, you might consider a GWS 
Slow Stick. I know several people who have learned to fly with this 
model, and I once met a fellow who used one for urban aerial photography 
(he actually made a little money taking real-estate photos). First, you 
can learn to fly with it. Then when you're ready to play with UAVs, you 
can hack it (or it's replacement if you trashed the first one) for use 
with Paprazzi (brushless motor, ailerons, etc).

Cheers,

John

Spencer Pangborn wrote:
> Thank you to those that helped with my netbook question.  I can rest 
> easy knowing the my upcoming netbook purchase will run Paparazzi, no 
> problem.  :)
>
> So today's concern is about which type of aircraft to use.  I admit 
> that I don't have an R/C vehicle experience; but it has been the 
> Paparazzi project that has prompted me to dive in.  The main catalyst 
> is to be able to take aerial photos of the streets here in Taipei, as 
> well as learn more about customizing hardware components.
>
> If any of you have visited Taiwan before you know that the population 
> density is incredibly high.  Therefore I would like to know if any of 
> you can recommend an aircraft that is easy to control (perhaps even 
> hover), can support a large enough payload for simple photo and video, 
> and allows easy implementation of Paparazzi. 
>
> I searched the Wiki for "helicopters", but didn't see too much info.  
> A Google search for "paparazzi + helicopter + uav" gave me this thread 
> of a newb looking to do a similar thing 
> <http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=813088>. 
>
> However, if a heli is too technical for a new user like me to 
> implement Paparazzi, any suitable beginner plane might do the trick.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Spencer
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