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Hubsan Spy Hawk
John Stennard continues his coverage of First Person View fl ying with a review
of a ready to fl y camera plane
he Hubsan Spy Hawk is quite a bold attempt to produce
a relatively low cost and easy to use ARF FPV model
aircraft. It's a surprisingly small and lightweight model and,
T
live video transmission is displayed on a 3.5" screen on the face
of the Tx. This obviously allows the pilot to both experience FPV
fl ight while viewing the screen plus being able to see what is being
recorded if this feature is being used. Of course, the Spy Hawk can
be fl own like any other model without any reference to the screen.
In this review I am purely looking at the model. Individuals should
personally check the BMFA rules for FPV fl ying and how they apply
to this model and FPV system. I will be test fl ying the Spy Hawk as
a member of the FPV UK group on private land with a competent
observer in attendance.
in order to simplify matters, it does not use a headset. The
I Spy With My Little…
The Spy Hawk comes well
packaged and, in addition
to the model parts, the box
includes the Tx, a 7.4 V 450
mAh LiPo, a balancer/charger,
an AC/DC power adapter and
a set of colourful self-adhesive
decals. Two versions of the
Spy Hawk are shown in the
instruction manual; the H301C
has a camera but no link to the
ground station. The H301F(A)
is the version with the 5.8 GHz
Well-packaged Spy Hawk should be in perfect condition when you get your fi rst glimpse
link and the (A) signifi es that it’s an aircraft. Helicopters are also
available with cameras. In appearance the Sky Hawk is very much
like a small version of my Cloud, the model which I have used for
my FPV fl ying. The foam parts of the model are accurately formed
and all the servos, radio and camera gear are in place. This means
that there is very little assembling to do.
The A5 size instruction manual looks very promising as there
are pages of good quality colour photographs. Unfortunately the
photos are let down by inaccurate and incorrect English. As it
happens, many of the processes covered by the photos had already
been done, so I did not have to try to understand what ‘Press the
propeller into the motor shaft (O ring on need)’ meant. I never did
fi nd an O-ring, and the prop screws on the shaft using a left-hand
thread! To be fair the photos show quite well what needs to be done
and modellers who buy the Spy Hawk are likely to have had some
experience of foam model aircraft. Also, a supplementary sheet
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Video camera unit with micro SD card and Rx in the cockpit area.
Battery space is designed specifi cally for the 2S 450 LiPo fl ight pack
Kit Review – Hubsan Spy Hawk
Attractive and sleek fuselage of the
Spy Hawk has all the R/C gear fi tted
The camera is in
the nose – try not
to nose dive into
the ground!
Attaching the tail feathers is the only gluing job
in with my model dealt with several extra points that were quite
important.
The transmitter (Tx) is a very impressive looking piece of kit with
its fl ip up screen shield and twin antennas. Four buttons on the
Tx are provided for programming. As soon as the fl ight pack was
charged I fi tted eight AA batteries in the Tx to see how the radio
and video system worked. The transmitters are sent out on Mode
2 but are set-up to easily convert to Mode 1. This requires a spring
to be removed, two screws to be adjusted on the sticks and a
programming change. As I was impatient, I started the tests with the
Tx in Mode 2 and all went well. After the system initialisation screen,
one is instructed to ‘pair with plane’ and then everything comes
alive. The screen shows the picture from the camera, which seemed
very clear. Numerical values are shown on the screen for the stick
movements. At the top left the numbers are for the fl ight timer; this
starts as soon as the motor is started. In the top right of the screen
is shown the Tx voltage. At this point the enter key can be pressed
to enter the programming mode.
Cockpit canopy features an
important cooling grille. Do
not block this off!
I found the elevator ‘V’ hinge had been cut through, so I cut it
loose and re-hinged with Mylar
Happy that everything was functioning, I took the back off the Tx
and changed the sticks over to Mode 1. Unfortunately, when I tried
to enter the programming to change the trims to match the new
stick functions, the Tx froze up. After some fruitless attempts to
sort this I contacted Jason and Paul at CML Distribution and they
were extremely helpful. In an incredibly short time a replacement
Tx, already changed to Mode 1 and checked out, arrived and this
worked perfectly.
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Aileron servos are pre-tted into the wings. Note the CF wing
joiner
Spy Hawk’s rather interesting looking dual antenna Tx, seen
with the screen opened up
Quick Fix
Back in business, I decided to leave any further Tx adjustments
until after I had assembled the Spy Hawk. The model is made
from durable EPO foam material and, as the wings push in place,
the only assembly required is to glue the tailplane and n onto the
fuselage and connect up the pushrods. It really is a small model,
with a wingspan of 840 mm (33") and length of 620 mm (24.5"). The
Spy Hawk is powered by a C1404 brushless 3000 kV brushless
Kit includes an AC/DC power supply and balancer/charger unit
motor using a special 110 x 30 mm prop (4.3" x 1.2") and a 6 A
ESC. Four 2.2 g servos are used and the 2.4 GHz Rx system
features a switchable autopilot system. A GPS ‘one key to return’
system is under development and there are sockets on the PC
board available for, maybe, other devices.
With the model parts on the bench a close inspection of the
elevator revealed that in some places the V-cut forming the hinge
had cut right through the foam. Rather than patch this with tape I
cut the elevator free and used three Mylar hinges to re-attach the
elevator. The rudder and ailerons were ne but hinges of this type
are always worth watching as they can fail after some use. The
tailplane and n were glued in place with UHU POR and, when
connecting up the rudder and elevator pushrods, I slipped a safety
ring (I use slices cut from fuel tubing for this) over the clevises. The
aileron leads have to be connected and carefully tucked into the
fuselage through a small hole before the wings can be pushed in
place. The wings are a very tight t and in normal ying should not
require any gluing.
With the prop on the motor shaft all that remained was to attach
the decals. These are suitably sticky and, as usual, care has to be
taken to avoid them curling and sticking to themselves. Several
pairs of hands would be an asset for this job!
A quick weight check showed that the Spy Hawk weighed a mere
180 g (6.3 oz), exactly what is shown in the instruction manual,
which gives a low wing loading.
Ready To Transmit
With the Spy Hawk ready for ight it
was time to take a better look at the
Tx and the functions of the control and
video systems. After the Tx has been
paired with the plane programming can
be accessed by pressing the Enter key.
On the screen there are various options:
Set Reverse, Set Sensitivity, Plane
Type – Air Plane/Heli, Expert Mode,
Stick Mode 1-2 and 5.8 GHz Frequency.
I thought that one could switch off the
Autopilot and change to manual but this
option does not appear on my menu.
Compared to the Cloud the Spy
Hawk seems quite small
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The Spy Hawk has gyros on all the
control surfaces and it’s quite uncanny to
watch the surfaces move to counteract
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Patio view showing control stick information. Top right is the
Tx battery voltage and top left is the ight time counter
Kit Review – Hubsan Spy Hawk
Climbing away steadily at my ‘farmer’s eld’ ying site
Programming menu allows you a few options
unwanted movements and smooth the ight. The video camera can
be switched on and off to record via a tiny switch on the video PC
board, or by using the Enter switch on the Tx. When switched on
the elapsed time appears on the Tx screen in red numbers. The inight switch is a very good idea and avoids lots of unwanted video.
By viewing the screen and activating the camera as and when
needed allows the pilot to get exactly the footage required.
The voltage of the Tx battery is also shown on the screen.
Everyman’s FPV?
The manual recommends that the 5.8 GHz antenna on the
model is pointing as straight down as possible for the best video
transmission, and the video range is listed as 300 - 400 m.
Following the FPV UK rules, the model should not be own higher
than 400 ft and an 840 mm wingspan model is going to look small
at 100 m and mighty small at 200 m! I decided to y the Spy Hawk
as though it was a conventional model rst with the screen shut.
This would allow me to check out the controls and the effect of the
autopilot as though I was ying a standard electric glider.
In a light wind the Sky Hawk performed brilliantly. The motor has
ample power for a fast climb and also has a very at glide. The
autopilot really does smooth out the ying and holds the model on
track. I found that the rudder is very effective and combining the
rudder and ailerons produced really smooth turns. A lightweight
model that ies this well is going to be very easy to land and this
proved to be correct.
Next time it was up and away with the screen open and even in
quite bright sunshine the picture was easy to see. Initially, and until
A few circuits before heading upwards shows off the clean
lines of this model
Looking back towards where I am piloting the Spy Hawk
condence has been gained, the screen is just peeped at and the
view admired. As with any FPV ying the issue is not with the roll
function (aileron) as the effects of this are immediately seen, but
with the pitch (elevator) control. However, the autopilot function
on the Spy Hawk takes away this worry as the little model ies
beautifully straight and level. One word of caution is that the size of
the Spy Hawk means that it can be quite hard to locate if you have
spent some time viewing the screen. This is, of course, just where
the ‘Competent Observer’ steps in as he/she has been watching
the model and, if required, can tell you that it is getting too high or
too far away. You denitely do lose contact with your location and
altitude when you watch the screen for some time. The OSD that is
being developed will give you a useful reading of altitude.
Flying on another occasion, in much windier conditions, I was
conscious of several things. Firstly, that the Spy Hawk could easily
climb OOS (out of sight) on a minimum of power. Secondly, that it
had the ability to virtually hover in the wind with the motor off. And
thirdly, and the most important, I had to work quite hard to get back
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A nice view over the countryside. You can fl y higher than
intended when you get absorbed by the scenery!
Open up the throttle and the sky’s the limit. Just remember, it’s
quite small!
down to the ground. The recorded video images are really good and
certainly as good as I get from my normal camera plane. I found
the reception to be excellent, wherever the model was positioned.
Flights of over the suggested 15 minutes are possible if there is
some wind, as a minimum of power is required to maintain height
and position.
Additional Pilots’ Notes
While the Tx is in programming ‘Blue Screen’ mode the Tx controls
do not operate the model. This mode is entered by pressing
the ‘Enter’ button for one second. However, switching the video
camera on and off uses the same button. It is possible to enter the
programming mode by mistake when you intended to switch on the
video. Obviously, if you are watching the screen when you press
the button to switch on the video you will realise what you have
done and can quickly press the ‘Exit’ button. If you are not aware
you have done this, you soon will be when the control inputs get no
reaction from the model! Fortunately the autopilot continues to work
which means the model will continue to fl y safely.
The 5.8 GHz video transmission channel can be changed via the
programming function. Hubsan are producing a headset but if you
have a Fatshark 5.8 GHz headset you can choose a compatible
channel on the Tx and see the video picture using the Fatshark
headset. The picture on the Tx is not affected.
Back To Earth
I suspect that a committed FPV fl yer may not consider the Spy
Hawk as a ‘serious’ contender in this genre. In my opinion it
represents excellent value for money and not only provides a good
Banking around to land in the fi eld on the left after another
exciting fl ight
introduction to FVP but performs exceptionally well in its own right.
Its compact size and quite amazing fl ight performance provides a
great deal of enjoyment. The small size is a big advantage if you
want to take the Spy Hawk away on holiday or if you just want to fl y
it in different locations.
Although I was a bit doubtful about the function of the autopilot
it is actually a great aid to smooth fl ying. The fi xed camera does
have limitations but, as with my camera plane, one soon learns the
heights and positions required to fi lm exactly what you want. The
picture on the screen helps and the ability to switch the camera on
and off is a real bonus.
I really love this model and will be fl ying it whenever I have the
opportunity. It’s a great little performer in its own right and the
camera and FPV option add a fascinating experience to model
fl ying. Q&EFI
Specification
INFORMATION
Name: Spy Hawk
Manufacturer: Hubsan
Distributor: CML Distribution Ltd
Price: £214.00
Model Type: R/C motor glider equipped with FPV system
Motor: C1404 Brushless 3000 kV brushless motor
Battery: 2S 450 LiPo
Prop: 110 x 30 mm prop (4.3" x 1.2")
R/C FUNCTIONS
1 Aileron
2 Elevator
3 Throttle
4 Rudder
5 Autopilot
6 Video on/off
SPECIFICATIONS
Wingspan: 840 mm (33")
Length: 620 mm (24.5")
Weight: 180 g (6.3 oz)
TEST
DISLIKES
Instruction booklet could be
improved. But does include a
separate sheet of information
about the video camera
Use of the same button
for video activation and
programming the Tx
LIKES
Flies extraordinarily well and
the autopilot works perfectly
Video quality is very good
Ability to combine normal
fl ying and FPV using the Tx
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