An Affordable and Awesome Way to Fly a Mustang

  • Feb 19, 2015 11:50am GMT

Maybe I'll hold off on that deposit for a full-size P-51 and go for this instead.

First-Person View (FPV) R/C flying is a way to fly a model aircraft using a remote video link from the aircraft instead of the usual line-of-sight viewpoint from the ground. It isn't new technology since people have been experimenting with it for over 20 years. But current electronics such as smaller cameras and transmitters and FPV Goggles have really boosted the popularity of this kind of radio controlled flying.

YouTube user icastel101 takes FPV R/C flying to a whole new level. He installed an FPV camera on a pan-tilt gimball where the pilot's head would be in the cockpit of his P-51D Mustang. Within view of the camera is a detailed cockpit and the arms of the pilot on the flight stick and throttle (courtesy of an old G.I. Joe). The arms move in sync with the aircraft's actual flight controls to greatly add to the video's realism. Check out his video below.

Modern generation FPV goggles have an option for Head Tracking Control. Installed in the goggles is a gyro sensor that reads the motion of the viewers head. This motion is then transmitted to a receiver that can move the camera to mimic the users input. Simply put, you turn your head left, the camera turns left. You look up, the camera looks up.

For more information on First-Person-View flying check out Spektrum RC's website.

See the rules set in place by the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) regarding FPV flying.