FPV With A Parkzone Stryker
Posted on February 16, 2010 by aaronredbaron
The Parkzone Stryker has been around now for over 5 years. Originally just released as a low power RTF (ready to fly) model with a brushed motor and NiMh batteries, hobbyist quickly started snatching up the replacement parts for the bare airframe and outfitting them with much more power. I was one of them and beat the living daylights out of mine in full contact combat with other flying buddies. It didn’t take Parkzone long to catch up, the latest version of the Stryker, the F-27c, sits on store shelves with a brushless motor and LiPo batteries, and can be purchased either with full radio gear as an RTF (Ready To Fly), or a PNP version (Plug and Play). My Stryker started life at the beginning of the craze about 5 years ago, and after collecting dust for the last 3 years, it has been assign a new mission, FPV! (First Person Video)
Its hard to believe I let my poor Stryker sit and rot for so long with so much potential for FPV flight. As a combat veteran, my Stryker had a hard life and wasn’t treated gently, but despite its rough character, it flies excellent! For the most part the Stryker flies like other flying wings; its fast, aerobatic, and tracks very nicely. Slow it down, however, and the Stryker stands out in the crowd. Where as most flying wings don’t like to slow down and are prone to tip stalling, the F-27 can be flown in a high alpha (nose high) attitude to bleed off airspeed without dropping a wingtip (similar to the way the Space Shuttle glides). This slow speed ability is tremendously helpful for flying from the model’s perspective. Combined with the Stryker’s other great flying qualities and its low cost of easily available replacement parts, it would be tough to do much better! Outfitted with an Eagle Tree Systems OSDpro, my Stryker is proving to be a rugged, well suited model for FPV.
Stay tuned for an in depth analysis on my Stryker’s FPV setup.
