The Basics

For the project, we narrowed our search of a powerful, easily modifiable remote controlled airplane down to the ParkZone J-3 Piper Cub. The Piper Cub uses a powerful brushless motor, and during initial testing of the airplane without modifications, the climb angle was well above other park flyers. This meant that the airplane would be able to perform even with the extra weight that we will be adding. While it is not the most stable airplane, it does survive crashes relatively well. During our initial testing of the airplane, a gust of wind flipped the plane into a downward spiral crash, and damage to the plane was very minimal.

For the camera system, we used the BoosterVision GearCam with a 12 dB Hi-Gain receiver. This mini wireelss camera system allows for a range of up to 2000 feet horizontally, and only requires the included camera and a 9V battery to run the system on the transmitting end. We also bought a video RCA to USB cable to allow for viewing the camera live on a laptop.

The two servos that we used are two small TowerPro SG-50s. These are extremely small and lightweight, which was an important factor when deciding on these.