Canadian Drone Rules

In light of my recent acquisition, I felt I should do the responsible thing and check out the Canadian Drone Rules. I found them on the Transport Canada web site and I have copied them here for future reference. For someone like me the rules seem reasonable and will have very little impact on how I intend to use my drone. Remember I am a nervous flyer, someone with more experience may feel very different. Regardless, the rules are in place for a reason and sadly, I would expect more restrictions in the future.

Rules for recreational drones

To fly a recreational drone (or model aircraft), you must follow the safety rules in the Interim Order Respecting the Use of Model Aircraft.

Review these rules before flying a drone for fun, if the drone weighs over 250 g and under 35 kg. If your drone is 250 g or less, read our tips for flying safe.

Following the safety rules helps keep people, aircraft and property safe. If you fly where you are not allowed or you break the rules below, you could be fined up to $3,000.

Fly your drone:

• below 90 m above the ground
• at least 30 m away from vehicles, vessels and the public (if your drone weighs over 250 g and up to 1 kg)
• at least 75 m away from vehicles, vessels and the public (if your drone weighs over 1 kg and up to 35 kg)
• at least 5.5 km away from aerodromes (any airport, seaplane base or area where aircraft take off and land)
• at least 1.8 km away from heliports or aerodromes used by helicopters only
• outside of controlled or restricted airspace
• at least 9 km away from a natural hazard or disaster area
• away from areas where its use could interfere with police or first responders
• during the day and not in clouds
• within your sight at all times
• within 500 m of yourself
• only if clearly marked with your name, address and telephone number

You are exempt from these rules if you are at a field or event approved by the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada.

You can get the full breakdown at Flying your drone safely and legally

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Traxxas Aton. Newbie Thoughts

So, Santa brought me a Traxxas Aton for Christmas. I have an interest in aerial videos and the Aton seems to meet my current requirements.

In the box:

The Aton came with a controller, a battery (3s 3000 mAh), charger, 4 props, a screw driver and a camera mount designed for Go-pro’s(not included), but I was able to get it to work with my Ion Air Pro camera.

Out of the box:

I needed to charge the battery and install the legs and camera mount. The leg and camera mount install is only necessary if you plan on using a camera. If you don’t, then there is no need to install them.

Charging:

When I first plugged the charger into the wall and the battery into the charger, I got a flashing red light error. It turns out I didn’t push the plugs in far enough. You really need to makes sure you have a good connection. Once that was fixed, it took about an hour to charge the battery.

In Flight Thoughts: 

Halifax RC Park Stocking Stuffers

The Halifax RC Park is in the middle of a terrific fund raising effort. The money is important as it goes to cover the insurance for the park (A requirement by the city of Halifax) and dirt ( A requirement for a RC track). They are hoping to sell 200 tickets at $10 each. The winner gets their choice of 1 0f the 5 fantastic prizes.

Choice 1. Traxxas Slash 1/10 Short Course Truck (SCT)

Choice 2. Axial SCX10-2

Choice 3. A pair of 1/10 ECX Torment 2WD trucks Trail Truck kit

Choice 4. Tamiya TT02B 4WD buggy Ready to Build and Run

Choice 5. A $500 voucher to Mighty Small Cars, in Dartmouth N.S.

The raffle is open until all tickets are sold. The committee hasn’t reached 50% in sales yet. I know winter is here and many aren’t thinking about their RC’s, but if this effort falls short, there may not be a place to run your RC’s in the summer. Christmas is fast approaching and tickets on something like this would be an ideal stocking stuffer.

To get your tickets,  just send an etransfer to halifaxrcpark@gmail.com  If you don’t want to go the etransfer route you can make arrangements for a cash payment by sending an email to the same address and they will be happy to help you out.

For more details check out the links below:

Choices….choices…win a…Traxxas Slash

Buy a $10 ticket – Win an R/C Car

 

 

Choices….choices…win a…Traxxas Slash

It is time to rise up and support your local RC track.

Buy a $10 ticket – Win an R/C Car

This the RC version of the QE Home Lottery. Great prizes and great odds of winning. Proceeds go toward the Halifax RC Park, so what’s not to like?

HRCP’s future rests in your hands

X-Maxx V2 8s Review

Out of the box, the Traxxas X-Maxx is ready to roar with the exception of batteries. So while I charged my batteries, I decided to do a check of the vehicle. There were no signs of leaking fluid, so I decided to check out the hardware. I started with the wheels and although the tires themselves were in great shape and glued properly to the rims, I wasn’t really surprised to see that every wheel nut needed to be tightened. I would also guess that approx. 50% of the vehicle screws were also loose and in need of some attention. When I pulled the gear cover, I found the gear mesh set too tight. The was no play between the pinion and the gear. The diffs and shocks were in good shape and had plenty of fluid. The shocks were adjusted in a way that the truck will nose dive off of jumps, with the threaded shock bodies, this was an easy fix. All in all, not bad I have seen many other RTR’s in worse shape upon arrival.

Work Party Saturday May 13th 2017

Lets try this again. Hopefully the weather co-operates

May 6th Track Rebuild Work Party CANCELLED due to weather

Hopefully next weekend

Bring your shovels – Track Rebuild Work Party Sat May 6th and May 13th

This will be fun. I am looking forward to a new layout.

Tamiya Takes on Toyota

Check out what happens when 15 1:10th scale Tamiya Hilux get together with a 1:1 Toyota Hilux.

Bego Racing

I was on the hunt for some 3s lipo batteries. I usually go with a Turnigy lipo from Hobby King as they have proved to be a very good inexpensive battery that hasn’t let me down over the years. The problem is waiting 3 weeks for them to arrive. This is the main reason I wanted to try something different and a little closer to home. After about an hour of online research I decided I wanted to try SMC (Superior Matching Concepts) batteries, so I went to the SMC website and found a Canadian retailer named Bego Racing, which is located in Quebec. Once I saw the selection and prices for batteries, I was happy to try my luck and place an order for 2 SMC Factory Spec 11.1V 7200mAh 60C. What I really liked was the fact the Bego Racing has a wide range of connectors that they solder on the battery for you. The Traxxas and Deans connectors are free, EC5, XT60 and XT90 will cost you an extra $3.99. Once the battery arrives, you only need to charge and enjoy them.

I placed 2 batteries in my cart and found shipping to be reasonable for Canada. ($17.75) I then took a day to think about it. The fact I could pay with PayPal put my mind at ease and pulled the trigger on Feb 26th. My Bego Racing account was updated regularly with the progress of my order and included a Canada Post Tracking #. The batteries arrived at my door on March 3rd. Everything was perfect, the batteries had the requested Traxxas connectors installed and both batteries had all 3 cells balanced perfectly at 3.85. The hard case batteries also have a rubber grommet around the openings where the battery leads and balancing wires emerge from the case. This should help keep some water out.

The first run with them in the X-Maxx was great. I had great speed and the truck would still wheelie on command. I look forward to seeing how these batteries hold up over the long run.

Bego Racing has delivered on great service, at a fair price and a quality product. It is these things that will have me back on their site in few weeks picking up some 4s batteries.

You can also check out Bego Racing on Facebook.

I reached to Bego Racing before I posted this article and I heard back from the owner. So I thought I would include some of the conversation. The owners name is Eric, he has been involved with the hobby for 20 years. It was 5 years ago that he decided to start Bego Racing from his home. At the same time they became the Canadian Distributor of SMC Batteries. They sell a wide variety of RC products that you can find on the BegoRacing site. The site may come up in French, but in the upper left hand corner you will see a drop down to change it to English.

Eric also said his English is bad, but after reading our correspondence all I can say is…… His English is way better then my French. I had no problem communicating with Eric.

RC display at the Halifax Central Library – Saturday March 25th 2017

Bring and friend and make a day of it.

What is in the Box? Updated

A 5L jug of oil and a 2L bottle of pop show the size of the box.

Canada Post stopped by the house today with a delivery. I looked at the box and I immediately became concerned and thought to myself “Oh crap there has been a mistake.” My next thought was “Who pays for return shipping?” because I know that won’t be cheap.

This leads me to my question for you. What is in the box?

Featured Track: RC Race Track Des iles

In the picturesque small town of Lameque, New Brunswick, which is known for its Peat and Fishing industry, you will find the RC Race Track Des iles. This sprawling beauty features some exciting races with plenty of spots that allow for some wheel to wheel action. At RC Race Track Des iles they run the following classes

• 1/10 2WD Buggy Open
• 1/10 2WD Short Course Open
• 1/10 4WD Short Course Open
• 1/8 Buggy
• 1/8 Truggy

You can get more details and find out about running with them on their Facebook Page.

The crew in New Brunswick really know how to get down. Thank you to Gregg Lawton for turning us on to the New Brunswick tracks that we have featured over they past few weeks.