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Just completed my FPV Easy Star maiden flight this past weekend. I did not know what to expect, and I can't believe how this little airframe tolerated the extra weight so well! It was a great time! I think I was hooked before I even flew the thing, but now I'm hooked all over again!

I had "gusts" of about 5mph on the ground and what I'm guessing may have been periods of 10mph aloft. I had quite a bit of buffeting going into the wind, and turns seemed pretty sloppy with the rudder/elevator method. Ailerons are clearly a must, and I plan to add them soon. In addition, would installing carbon fiber reinforcements in wings, rudder, and fuselage help with the buffeting? I can see how wing flex might make the fuselage bounce around.

On another note, I use RealFlight G5 for heli training/testing, and so I thought I'd give their Easy Star a try using the nose cam view feature while I was building mine. I have to say that it's spot on as far as flying via FPV. It mimicked the wind handling and flight characteristics I experienced in real life very well.

Video to follow... Speaking of video, what PC program do you guys use to do simple video editing? I'm running Windows 7, so there isn't a built in program like XP. I prefer a free option, of course. Windows Live Movie Maker is mostly useless. I need to cut the video I have down a lot before posting.

Happy FPVing!

Setup:
*Multiplex Easy Star ARF
(Don't get the ARF. It was the only option available for me.)
*500mW 900MHz A/V Transmitter from ReadyMadeRC
*Standard 900MHz Receiver from ReadyMadeRC
*RangeVideo DX-201 Camera
*Tiny Adjustable Microphone from ReadyMadeRC (stuffed inside the fuselage)
*Enlarged Rudder Modification
*Fuselage Side Hatch Modification (use the underbelly hatch method)
*Turnigy Plush 30A ESC/BEC
*Turnigy 2835-2200kV Brushless Inrunner
*Turnigy 3S 3000mAh LiPo (one in the plane, one on the ground)
*Turnigy Rhino 3S 610mAh LiPo for A/V System
*APC 6x4e Prop
*MPI Prop Adapter
*Spektrum DX7 with AR7000 Receiver and satelite
*HeadPlay Goggle System with Towel-over-head Method
*Inexpensive Tripod
*LiPo Alarm (LOUD) on both the plane and the ground station

UPDATE:

Again, this is a very basic flight just to get a feel for things. That tail wagging is really annoying. I really see the value in an OSD for keeping track of things, so I ordered one last night. Should get it by the end of the week.

Looking forward to your video!!!
Replacing the stock wingspar for a longer and stiffer one (carbon tube is good enough) is a good upgrade. Ailerons make the plane a little unstable and a little less easy to fly, if you want to make rolls you'll need to stretch the wingtips also. Glasfibre tape on both sides of the wing, from tip to tip, also stiffens the wing. The tail can use some of the same upgrades to, but keep it lightweight there!
With more wind you can move the C.G. forward (put the Lipo more forward) for higher speeds without pushing it down to much. Even better is to simply put in a bigger Lipo (more weight).

Just got a new notebook with Windows 7, tried the Windows Live Movie Maker and still have to get used to it but it does all the stuff that the XP Moviemaker can. But.....I'm also looking for a better editor. (maybe I want to use splitscreen for multiple cameras at the same time etc.)
The videos played directly from my camcorder are much better than after they are captured on the computer.... setting already checked over and over..


Good luck stiffening your EZ*

I have ailerons on my EZ* (as do many) and I find it very easy to fly, I would say that it greatly improves your control authority and allows you to fly in much stronger winds than using the standard tail alone. One mistake I did make though was placing the servos in line with with standard wing spar, this means that I can not simply put a longer carbon spar in to stiffen up the wings, so I would suggest thinking carefully about where you place your servos. I have heard before that using fibre tape or packing tape on the wings can help with stiffness so I will give that a try myself.

Ailerons are a must ..

Very nice keep on flying

I am still working on my setup.
Also i bought a tricopter
We will see when i fly FPV again.