LRP Column / May 2016

Our R&D team has been working quite a while now on their latest quadrocopter project that is now ready to see the light of day. What I am talking about is the LRP Gravit Monster Vision. Everybody who knows the Gravit Vision FPV can already get quite an idea of the model. Only that it is bigger - quite bigger and faster. You could say the Gravit Monster Vision is the big, athletic brother of the FPV Vision.

The Gravit Monster Vision is really big and is also equipped with four high power motors for great acceleration and speed. Due to the speed, its 360° loopings are great fun to watch. When you turn on the switchable LED position lights it becomes an even more fascinating sight at sunset or night.

The included tiltable WiFi camera enables the pilot to transmit the picture/video in realtime and enables you to get into FPV flying. Of course, you also have the opportunity to save the files directly to your mobile device, which makes the accessibility a lot easier compared to saving files onto the camera.

The flying has become even easier and therefore more suitable for beginners with the great “altitude hold” function. If the throttle stick of transmitter is left in the “neutral/middle position”, the copter will remain at the same altitude. Sticks are only moved up and down to adjust the flying height. This is also great while filming. Adding to this is the “headless flying” function. You do not have to care for the actual orientation of your copter. If you move your stick to the right, the copter will automatically fly to the right, despite of its actual orientation.

Two other new functions also are of great assistance. When you push the “return button”, your Gravit Monster Vision will fly back in your direction. If you don’t want to perform the landing procedure yourself, you can use the “auto-land” function that lets the Gravit land automatically and even turn off the motors afterwards. All in all a great starting point for everybody who wants to get into FPV flying and aerial photo & video shooting or who is just looking for an easy to use model that is great fun.

The opening round of the AOC in Shanghai was the first international race for Chinese ace driver JJ Wang after becoming the latest addition to our LRP team. It was also great that it took place on the Chinese American’s home track. Also aiming for the victory were LRP team drivers Ronald Völker and Jan Ratheisky as well as 4 times World Champion Naoto Matsukura and former TC Modified World Champion Jilles Groskamp. Ronald Völker tried everything in the first two A mains to beat JJ Wang but just wasn’t able to. Therefore JJ took home the victory already after the second A-Main. Ronald later said that he tried everything to match JJ but lacked steering in the sweepers and so there was nothing he could do to put pressure on him.

Naoto Matsukura and Jilles Groskamp took each other out in A-Main 2 and 3, making it possible for German non-pro driver Jan Ratheisky to finish a sensational overall third. He also won in 13.5 blinky, 13.5 boosted and Formula classes. This was a great day for LRP and our LRP team drivers – congratulations to all of you!

In the middle of April, the LRP fair team was on the road again: this time to Dortmund. The Intermodellbau is one of the worlds most prestigious and traditional consumer fairs in the modelling area. This year, 82.000 visitors came to the Westfalenhallen. The family day on Sunday was again the most frequented day of all. The Blue is Better booth is always one of the most popular ones. There, you can find our products and actually really hold them in your hands and get a feeling for them. Our event team is also able to answer (almost) every question about the modelling hobby in general and our models in particular.

But Blue is Better doesn’t stop there. Right next to our booth, an action track was set up. With a little patience, everybody had the opportunity to test different LRP cars. This is lots of fun not only for the drivers, but also for the numerous spectators around. It suits the LRP cars greatly to be that robust as the first driving experience can be a painful one – also for the model. The RC hobby is more than just driving – it is also much about getting experience, testing and discussing with other drivers.
The action shows of our pros are already among the well established highlights during the Intermodellbau fair. Getting the opportunity to try on one’s own and seeing the full potential of the models when they’re driven by skilled drivers, in my opinion are the best ways to get people from “outside” into our great hobby. Therefore, I think it is definitely worth the effort.

Pictures from AOC courtesy of RedRC.net