FlightSketch Mini Altimeter & Black Friday Sale

The FlightSketch Mini altimeter is back with a brand new version available to order on Black Friday (11/29)!

The Mini is a small and lightweight recording altimeter that is Bluetooth enabled. Wirelessly transfer data to your phone or tablet and view flight stats instantly. Now just 2.9g and fits in an 18mm coupler - $20 on our store. Sign up for alerts to be notified when orders are open.

Full specs are here:

https://flightsketch.com/store/catalog/flightsketch-mini_1/

We also have over 100 kits in stock now with more on the way plus motors from Aerotech, Quest & Estes. All will be on sale 11/29.

Last but not least - there will be some big (and little!) news about future products on the 29th. We're very excited to share what's on the way for 2020!


Special thanks to @BEC, @sl98 & @Chad for all of the help developing and testing.

Any word on the Android app Russ?

Hopefully he will weigh in on that, Rich. The last two weeks I have been flying using the iOS version of what is to be the cross-platform app. So I know it’s at least close.

I’ve been flying a developmental Mini that’s essentially the same as the production unit except the board thickness (so it’s a tad heavier). Data from those two dozen flights are posted on the log on the FlightSketch site.

rharshberger said:

Any word on the Android app Russ?

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Yes - Completely re-written app is cross platform. Full support for Android & iOS. I will post some screen shots in the next few days.

Glad I spotted this thread. Looks like a great alternative to some of the other products available. Got my name on the list.

Awesome Russ, I can finally purchase one or two of these units.

gtg738w said:

Yes - Completely re-written app is cross platform. Full support for Android & iOS. I will post some screen shots in the next few days.

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I checked out your videos and have a question. Once the data is on my phone is there a way to see the graphs without going to your website?

Greg Furtman said:

I checked out your videos and have a question. Once the data is on my phone is there a way to see the graphs without going to your website?

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Yes- the new app has plotting and flight stats displayed without uploading.

How does it determine altitude? Baro or accel? Also I see there’s a mounting hole to attach to a shock cord so I was wondering if you had a picture of what you recommend for doing that. Interesting product by the way.

DAllen said:

How does it determine altitude? Baro or accel? Also I see there’s a mounting hole to attach to a shock cord so I was wondering if you had a picture of what you recommend for doing that. Interesting product by the way.

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It is a barometric sensor (Bosch BMP388).

Below is a picture of the altimeter tethered to a section of 100lb braided Kevlar. It also works well just loose in a small payload bay with some extra wadding or double sided tape to secure to a sled or airframe wall in larger models.

Would the pressure spike from the ejection charge cause any damage to the barometric sensor if it is installed to the shock cord in the main parachute compartment? Or should be installed in an isolated payload bay?

mbeels said:

Would the pressure spike from the ejection charge cause any damage to the barometric sensor if it is installed to the shock cord in the main parachute compartment? Or should be installed in an isolated payload bay?

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The pressure alone will not damage the sensor. There is some potential for damage from long term exposure to corrosive gasses but I have yet to notice any impacts after ~2 years of flying this sensor family. Similarly, I believe the Jolly Logic Chute Release is barometric and you have to put it in the main compartment.

If the altimeter is above the wadding & recovery system, the exposure is pretty minimal. If you’re flying with a fire blanket and there is a direct path from motor to altimeter, something like a Dino Chutes pouch is a good idea:

https://www.dinochutes.com/Altimeter-pouch-PerfectFlite-FireFly-FireFly.htm

In that application (above the recovery system in the main body) I have been using little fleece pouches my wife made for my PerfectFlite FireFlys. The new FS Mini is a little smaller than a FireFly (about the same length but narrower).

This works for BT-50 (24mm) or larger tubes. To get it into an 18mm tube the protection would need to be less bulky. I've been flying it quite a bit in one 18mm model (Estes Checkmate) but mine is modified so that the top inch and a half are a separate payload section. If I were going to fly this in a model that small without a payload section I think I might wrap it in a square of wadding and pack that above everything else but the nose cone.






Greg Furtman: the new app shows a flight graph immediately after download of the data from the FS Mini to your phone:




I didn't know DinoChutes made a FireFly pouch until just now....I see it doesn't have a flap to fully close the end that would be facing the ejection gases (just like their pouches for AltimeterOne/TwoThree). But it would still afford quite a bit of protection both from ejection and the banging around that will happen when hanging an altimeter from the nose cone during descent and landing.

gtg738w said:

Yes - Completely re-written app is cross platform. Full support for Android & iOS. I will post some screen shots in the next few days.

Click to expand...

When will the Android version be up on Google Play?

Greg Furtman said:

When will the Android version be up on Google Play?

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Hopefully before the 29th! There is a version going through their legal process now. If needed, we will host the APK on our site for direct download until it shows up.

Russ, any plans to get this altimeter certified for NAR contest use?

75Grandville said:

Russ, any plans to get this altimeter certified for NAR contest use?

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Yes - The contest board is aware of our desire to have this approved. The new version has a status LED to make it compliant with the current sporting code but it is not yet on the list. Not sure how long it will take but I believe the requirements have been met.

Here are a couple of screenshots of the new app today:

gtg738w said:

Here are a couple of screenshots of the new app today:

View attachment 398813 View attachment 398814 View attachment 398815

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Cool

How high will the FlightSketch Mini record?

Greg Furtman said:

How high will the FlightSketch Mini record?

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The pressure sensor is characterized up to ~30Kft (300hPa). Beyond that it will continue to record but with reduced accuracy. At that point it is generally recommended to switch to another method like GPS.

Any update on the Android app? I saw this:
https://github.com/flightsketch/flightSketch-Android
Not sure if it works or is something official.

billdz said:

Any update on the Android app? I saw this:
https://github.com/flightsketch/flightSketch-Android
Not sure if it works or is something official.

Click to expand...

Yep, it works. @Chad got the original iOS app ported over to Ionic which is a cross platform framework. The code can be built for iOS or Android and actually works really well. There were MANY requests for Android support.

That's great news. I'm not familiar with Ionic, will it soon be in the App store as a regular app?

The sale starts tomorrow & I just checked Google Play and did not see the app. Nor is the APK on the Flight Sketch website. Will it be available tomorrow or soon?

Greg Furtman said:

The sale starts tomorrow & I just checked Google Play and did not see the app. Nor is the APK on the Flight Sketch website. Will it be available tomorrow or soon?

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Even if its not up yet I still plan on buying two FSMini's.

Greg Furtman said:

The sale starts tomorrow & I just checked Google Play and did not see the app. Nor is the APK on the Flight Sketch website. Will it be available tomorrow or soon?

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Both builds were approved and published earlier in the week. Not sure why it’s not in the search results yet. The link is on the product page and here for ref:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flightsketch.flightsketch

I’ll post the APK tonight if I don’t eat too much...

Got the App....just need the FS Mini's now.....

The link worked fine that you posted Russ.

I’ve been running the Android app on an Amazon Fire 7 tablet (after first sideloading the Google Play store and three supporting .apks following info in a link Russ sent me). At least indoors it looks like it’s working fine with a pre-production Mini. It looks and behaves just like the iOS version of the “universal” app I’ve been using for several weeks, except that one irritating bug is fixed in the Android version.

I see that version of the app is now on the iOS App Store so I’ll pull that down and replace my beta version with that. May decide the best thing to do on Black Friday is go fly....and if so will post more flight data then.

BEC said:

I’ve been running the Android app on an Amazon Fire 7 tablet

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Yes, and worth noting that Amazon has the Fire 7 for $29.99 right now. Not a spectacular tablet but functional if you don't have a smartphone or want something to leave in your range box!