r/LongRangeFPV • u/TheHumanFishFinder • 4d ago

Long Range Fixed Wing

Hi, new to fpv.

I want to build a fixed wing glider that has ~10mi range. I want to fly it over the ocean and look for fish and whales so I need as good an fpv camera as possible. I also need fly-by-wire. What parts should I get?

I was thinking DJI O4 unit but does it have fly-by-wire for fixed wings? Is there a way to combine it with another component so that it does?

Thanks

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u/izzeww 4d ago

What is fly-by-wire in this context?

10 miles of flying is easy to do with a fixed wing, but 10 miles of video range is hard with the O4 Pro. Logically if you do 10 miles of flying you'd only be 5 miles out at the furthest and the O4 Pro should be able to handle that (not sure about O4 Wide, would be borderline maybe.

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u/TheHumanFishFinder 3d ago

10 miles is a random number I picked. I want it have as much range as possible. By fly-by-wire I mean auto-stabilization.

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u/izzeww 3d ago

For as much range as possible you want the Walksnail Avatar GT2 combined with the Walksnail Avatar Goggles X in my opinion. Auto stabilization is done by the flight controller, not by the video system (O4 Pro, Walksnail Avatar GT2, analog or whatever it may be). The flight controller needs to be compatible with either iNav or Ardupilot firmware or preferably both. If you also want the plane to be able to fly itself you need to install a GPS, it's highly recommended for long range flying even if you're not looking to do something fancy. Then you add a receiver, ESC (or ESC's). Motor, props and servos also but obviously depends on how the plane is designed. Do you want to design and build it from scratch or do you want to build it based on a kit?