KWSN Orbiting Fortress

[ToeBee]

Since I dropped by to give an update on the server situation I thought I would go ahead and drop this here too. I have acquired a new hobby this year: RC! I have been hacking on a quadcopter since this spring. One of these days I might actually be able not only fly it but LAND it as well!

I have gone through several iterations. The first build was an overpriced all-in-one kit (ELEV-8 by Parallax) that got me in the door. The first flight ended... poorly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65FOB2oWwjI

Since then I have flown (and crashed) it a few more times. On the most recent one I strapped my GoPro camera to it and got some pretty neat views. Well, until the end that is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5OdOm4S1cI

After each crash I have upgraded it a little while rebuilding. Now I have a really good flight controller that even has GPS functionality built in. Unfortunately it doesn't automatically sense overhead wires. The good news is that there is no video evidence of that one and the damage was minor.

Anyway, one of these days I'm going to fly and not crash. I swear! My original idea for this project was to be able to send it up over new construction to get aerial imagery so that I could then map new structures in OpenStreetMap. Maybe some day I will be awesome enough to pull this off.

Anyone else around here to RC stuff? It can become quite the expensive hobby but it is definitely fun. Right now I think I have 3 different part orders inbound from all corners of the globe...