And now for something completely different...
Up until now I've restricted my flying with the Eachine Racer 250 http://www.banggood.com/Eachine-Racer-250-FPV-Drone-w-Eachine-I6-2_4G-6CH-Transmitter-7-Inch-32CH-Monitor-HD-Camera-RTF-p-1008942.html?p=GD11077650102014093V to large open spaces. This time I thought I'd try something new: some relatively dense woodland proximity flying.
This required a completely different technique than I'd been used to. Firstly, I was unable to use Rate flight mode (Acro). I tried but failed almost instantly. So I left the ER250 http://www.banggood.com/Eachine-Racer-250-FPV-Drone-w-Eachine-I6-2_4G-6CH-Transmitter-7-Inch-32CH-Monitor-HD-Camera-RTF-p-1008942.html?p=GD11077650102014093V in Attitude flight mode. Secondly, I had to start off incredibly slowly meandering around at walking pace learning the lie of the land.
And don't be fooled by the clarity of this video. FPV was noticeably different. Light and colour balance were poor in general and all the gaps seemed much smaller. To begin with I was breathing in as I squeezed in between trees and physically moving in my seat to avoid obstacles. I'm glad there was no one there to see as it must have looked rather odd!
Once I'd committed a map of the obstructions to memory I was able to start moving a little faster. Surprisingly this improved matters as I was past obstacles before my body had a chance to react.
When I'm flying in a big field I generally don't have to concentrate very hard. In the woods complete focus was required. I was often glad of hitting something as it gave me a chance to relax and stretch my legs whilst I collected the ER250 http://www.banggood.com/Eachine-Racer-250-FPV-Drone-w-Eachine-I6-2_4G-6CH-Transmitter-7-Inch-32CH-Monitor-HD-Camera-RTF-p-1008942.html?p=GD11077650102014093V. But I'll say this - it's great fun and incredibly rewarding as you find yourself get faster and faster. Not only that but you get a fantastic video to share at the end of it.
As with all good things, eventually it had to come to an end. On my 6th and final battery I decided to see exactly how fast I could go. It wasn't long before I reached my limits! The ER250 caught a solid tree with its right arm and that was game over.
In terms of hardware, what surprised me most was the props. The KINGKONG 5040s http://www.banggood.com/KINGKONG-5040-Propellers-CW-CCW-10-Pairs-For-QAV250-RC-Multirotors-p-1000415.html?p=GD11077650102014093V hit branches, undergrowth and a fence. They were dented and bent but straightened out to keep going. They never broke. I'm going to write them off now though.
I'd absolutely recommend woodland flying but you'll probably have more fun if you don't choose a woodland that's quite so dense as this one. Also, try to find one with paths to follow. That way you'll be able to track were you want to go much more easily with the FPV camera.
This video was filmed using:
From Banggood.com https://www.banggood.com/?p=GD11077650102014093V
Eachine Racer 250
KINGKONG 5040 Props
FrSky Tarnanis and X4RSB (CPPM)
Eachine LCD5802S Monitor
From HobbyKing
Quanum V2 Goggles
FC Firmware
LibrePilot 15.09
