Home >> Hobbies >> Aviation

DIY Model Surveillance Aircraft

Drone aircraft are able to transmit video of what is seen to the operator working the controls hundred of miles away. A do-it-yourself surveillance aircraft can be made using your RC plane and a self-contained video camera designed to resemble an ordinary ink pen. The RC plane will not have to be disassembled or physically modified to add this feature, and the weight of the video camera won't deter its flight ability.

Things You'll Need

Bath towel
RC plane
Video camera pen
Duct tape
RC controller
USB cable
Windows Media Player

Instructions

- 1
  Lay a bath towel flat on a table. Place the RC plane on the towel with the bottom facing up. Rotate the plane so that the nose is facing left.
- 2
  Hold the video camera pen horizontally. Place the pen against the plane so that the tip is up against the base of the nose. Then rotate the pen so that the camera lens on the body is facing up. Tape the sides of the pen to the plane, with strips of duct tape.
- 3
  Stand the plane right-side up outside, wherever it is normally flown. Press the button on the side or top of the pen to start recording, then start the plane's engine with the RC controller. Fly the plane in the usual manner and then land it. Remove the tape holding the pen to the plane.
- 4
  Take the pen over to a computer. Plug the USB cable that comes with the pen into its USB slot and the USB port on a computer.
- 5
  Launch Windows Media Player by selecting it from the ̶0;Start,̶1; ̶0;All Applications̶1; menu. Click ̶0;File̶1; followed by ̶0;Open File̶1; from the drop-down menu. Click the icon of the pen in the left side of the window that appears, then click the video file in the right side of the window.
- 6
  Click the ̶0;Open̶1; button at the bottom of the window. Then click the ̶0;Play̶1; button on the Media Player̵7;s control panel, to view the surveillance video you shot.

Aviation