Eagle Pro Kit

 

 

Assembly Instructions / User Guide

Eagle Pro Assembly Instructions V0.9

Eagle Flight Computer User Guide V1.0

SPOT Trace Product Update Notice

Tutorials

Intro to Weather Balloons

Helium

Inflating a Weather Balloon

Tying Off a Weather Balloon

      Balloon Performance Calculator Tutorial

      Tips and Suggestions

      Preparing your Eagle Pro for a water landing.

      If you live out east where there is a lot of lakes, ponds, rivers, Atlantic Ocean, etc. the biggest tip we can give you is to make sure your Eagle Pro will float if it lands in water. The easiest way to do this is to slide a sleeve of pipe insulation (looks like a miniature black pool noodle) over each of the three frame members. You can purchase pipe insulation at any home improvement store such as Lowes, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, etc. The three lengths of pipe insulation will ensure your Eagle Pro will float upright if it lands in water. Everything is waterproof except for the flight computer. Even if the flight computer is damaged we should be able to repair it for a small fee unless it lands in salt water. Since the Eagle Pro started flying in 2012, there have been six water landings:
      1. Lake in Texas. No floats. Never Recovered
      2. Swamp along Texas Gulf Coast. No floats. Recovered a few hours after landing. Parachute was floating on the surface a few yards from the shore.
      3. Lake Huron. Floats added. Recovered by boat day after launch.
      4. Gulf of Mexico. Floats added. Recovered by boat day after launch.
      5. Pacific Ocean. Floats added. Drifted to shore a few hours after landing and recovered.

      Tracking your Eagle Pro for its entire flight at one minute intervals.

      If you have an amateur radio license, purchase our APRS tracker. It allows you to see exactly where your payload is at every minute of the flight, including altitude. Satellite trackers only update once every 5 or 10 minutes and they don't work above 18,000 m ~ 60,000 ft.

        FAQs

        Is there a chance I could lose my Eagle Pro? What is my chance of recovery?

        Our Eagle Pro has a 98% recovery rate. Except for one or two cases, the remaining 2% would have been recovered if it weren't for mistakes that were made by the launch team. Common mistakes that have been made include:
          1. Forgetting to replace old batteries in your satellite tracker. We recommend replacing them after every one or two flights.
          2. Replacing old batteries in your satellite tracker with the wrong type of battery. You should only use Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries.
          3. Attempting to use a smartphone as a tracker to save from having to pay a satellite tracker subscription fee. Using cellphone trackers is illegal per FCC 22.925.
          4. Launching without floats when your payload is expected to land in an area with lots of water.