RC Model Reviews

Hello guys. I know this probably was answered somewhere over the net, but I just can't find the info . The thing is: I bought Frsky telemetry modules for my TGY 9x radio, so I had spare turnigy module and RX. So I took apart my old Hitec Optic Sport 6, took out old 40MHz RF guts, and soldered in guts from TGY module. Everything works fine so I decided to sell the radio, I have no use for it. One guy answered my ad and wants to use it for 2,5m sailplane. He seems not very familiar with rc systems ("2,4 ? errr.... that is with those short antennae right?"). Im not sure if those Turnigy module and RX are enough for that big airplane. I flew only parkfliers, not more than 200m away. How high/far can one see 2.5m glider? . I'd feel really bad if he'd loose it because of radio. I consider not selling him.

I hope someone will chime in with some constructive advice or range data .

Richard

I once did a visibility test of a 2.5m glider on an airfield concrete runway. The limit was found at 1200m. And that is seeing the model square from below, not sideways, and in ideal conditions (bright clear day). This is a maximum visibility range in ideal conditions of 480 times the model span. The test was performed as an estimate of the altitude reached when the model was lost sight of directly above, luckily my friend had binoculars which helped locate and bring the model back. Radio was Graupner Variophon/Varioton on 27 MHz. Hope it helps.

Cool data blacfoot, thanks! So I'll scan more forums for Turnigy long-range check, if I can trust it at ~1km

I'd call the FlySky stuff "medium range" but one thing I've noticed is that individual receivers/modules do seem to vary significantly in the amount of range they deliver.

The best range I've had was over 1Km on the ground and the worst was about 250m.

They are cheap for a reason - and it's mostly about quality control. With a good module/receiver pair you should be good to around 1.5Kms in the air but if you're unlucky enough to get a "marginal" pairing, then the range could be less.

I do not know if this is relevant to the present versions of the FlySky.
I checked two V1 receivers (those with satellite) which were bought at the same time and obtained a 600m ground range.
I frankly would not risk them in a 2.5m glider which may be taken to the limit of visibility (say 1000m).
As I comparison, the little 4-channel FrSky Rx works to 800m and I stopped walking at 1600m with the 7-channel, could easily gone much further.
Re my earlier post, a 2.5m glider at 1200m is the same as a 1/2" glider at 20ft. Try it

I have V2 receiver, with sleeved dipole and no satellite. I found out that antenna cable was damaged at one spot, pretty weak, maybe shielding was cut . I replaced whole rx antenna cable and dipole. Should be okay now . I'd better do ground test. How does ground range translate to air?

There is no magic formula for converting ground range into "in air" range because there are so many environmental factors.

However, it's generally pretty safe to assume (providing there are no strong sources of interference that become visible to the receiver once it clears the ground-clutter) that you'll get at least an extra 50% range once your model is 100+ feet in the air.