I have recently been asked to fly a Cinestar 8 belonging to an established film company. I am familiar with the legal requirements (BNUC-S, Operations Manual, etc.) and come from a commercial aviation background plus I used to build and fly models in my youth so the actual flying and qualifications are not too daunting.
I initially spent some hours flying a Ladybird QR 4 to gain a little proficiency before starting flying the Cinestar 8. The chap who owns it (and the film company) assumed it would be quite easy to fly but did not get on too well with it, hence my involvement.
The machine has what appear to be mainly Mikrokopter components with GPS, a radio link to a USB interface for reading the various parameters and programming, a Graupner GR-16 receiver and MX-20 transmitter, 2 x Kypom 30C 4s2p 14.8V 10,000mAh and 1 x Buzzflyer 30C 8,000mAh batteries.
I have several problems which I am hoping someone reading this and with experience might be able to help me with. The unit seems to be relatively stable (I haven't ventured too much beyond hovering at realtively low level and gentle manouevres within 20 metres or so) but I rapidly hear beeping noises from the 'copter and the red tail boom LEDs flash and I assume this is low battery voltage warning but I am not sure. When I remove a battery after I get the warnings the voltage reading is around 3.8V per cell. I can see nowhere in all the settings to find out what level the low voltage warning is set at nor do I know what a sensible figure would be. I have also found that in the past few cold days here (around freezing point) that I can start the unit but the engines will not rev beyond a fast idle at about one fifth gas as if there is a fault but if I bring the unit indoors within a few minutes everything works normally. Is there some sort of low temperature restriction?
I have the Mikrokopter software but the only paperwork I have is a basic page and a half giving very rudimentary instructions on how to initialise, start the engines and stop them and a few tips but very little information otherwise. I also have a picture showing the switch positions for Altitude Hold, Free Flight, Position Hold and Return Home.
I have read a considerable amount on the Mikrokopter website and various other bits of information but confess that I am confused about a lot of what I read. I am obviously reluctant to start altering things I don't understand. The link at the bottom of the post leads to an album of screen shots showing what parameters are set and would be grateful if someone can tell me if they are roughly correct or if there are any glaring mistakes.
The MX-20 has V1.00 software and When I tried to set it up to receive telemetry from the Cinestar (I really would like battery voltage) I found that almost as soon as getting airborne I received a continuous beeping which didn't appear to relate to anything I could see on the MX-20 display, when I turned telemetry off it stopped!
I must sound like a complete numpty but I am not in the mood to press on regardless without fully understanding how the unit is operating and potentially having an accident because I have some serious set up issues.
I would be grateful for any advice people are able to offer.
[url=http://tinyurl.com/c7j46dx]Link to album here.[/url]
I initially spent some hours flying a Ladybird QR 4 to gain a little proficiency before starting flying the Cinestar 8. The chap who owns it (and the film company) assumed it would be quite easy to fly but did not get on too well with it, hence my involvement.
The machine has what appear to be mainly Mikrokopter components with GPS, a radio link to a USB interface for reading the various parameters and programming, a Graupner GR-16 receiver and MX-20 transmitter, 2 x Kypom 30C 4s2p 14.8V 10,000mAh and 1 x Buzzflyer 30C 8,000mAh batteries.
I have several problems which I am hoping someone reading this and with experience might be able to help me with. The unit seems to be relatively stable (I haven't ventured too much beyond hovering at realtively low level and gentle manouevres within 20 metres or so) but I rapidly hear beeping noises from the 'copter and the red tail boom LEDs flash and I assume this is low battery voltage warning but I am not sure. When I remove a battery after I get the warnings the voltage reading is around 3.8V per cell. I can see nowhere in all the settings to find out what level the low voltage warning is set at nor do I know what a sensible figure would be. I have also found that in the past few cold days here (around freezing point) that I can start the unit but the engines will not rev beyond a fast idle at about one fifth gas as if there is a fault but if I bring the unit indoors within a few minutes everything works normally. Is there some sort of low temperature restriction?
I have the Mikrokopter software but the only paperwork I have is a basic page and a half giving very rudimentary instructions on how to initialise, start the engines and stop them and a few tips but very little information otherwise. I also have a picture showing the switch positions for Altitude Hold, Free Flight, Position Hold and Return Home.
I have read a considerable amount on the Mikrokopter website and various other bits of information but confess that I am confused about a lot of what I read. I am obviously reluctant to start altering things I don't understand. The link at the bottom of the post leads to an album of screen shots showing what parameters are set and would be grateful if someone can tell me if they are roughly correct or if there are any glaring mistakes.
The MX-20 has V1.00 software and When I tried to set it up to receive telemetry from the Cinestar (I really would like battery voltage) I found that almost as soon as getting airborne I received a continuous beeping which didn't appear to relate to anything I could see on the MX-20 display, when I turned telemetry off it stopped!
I must sound like a complete numpty but I am not in the mood to press on regardless without fully understanding how the unit is operating and potentially having an accident because I have some serious set up issues.
I would be grateful for any advice people are able to offer.
[url=http://tinyurl.com/c7j46dx]Link to album here.[/url]
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