Experiences with folding props or quick connectors?

[Holger]

Hello everyone,

I am looking into getting my 'on the road' copter into a bit of a smaller package to make storing and taking it into places a bit easier. I also hike into places with my copter attached to a pack pack.

So I wonder what experiences do you have with either folding props or quick attachment adapters.
Is there anything you can fully recommend?

What about vibration? Shouldn't be a big problem with the quick adapters like foxtech ones, but I wonder with the folding props.

So to make it short:
What experiences do you have and what can you recommend?

Thanks!

 

[SleepyC]

Folding props (good quality ones) ROCK.
They actually cause WAY less vibration than normal props. Especially the 3 bladed ones.
They take just a few minutes to balance, and the tiny hit in efficiency you take I think is worth it.
To balance you simply weigh each blade and match them to the lightest. Most of the DJI 15/5 blades were spot on for me.

Transport is easier, and the cost is a LOT less.
View attachment 19199

 

[flappybird]

I'm looking at getting those KDE triple Prop adapters for my S1000 for a high altitude (14,000ft) project I have coming up. Did you see a substantial increase in thrust with those?

 

[Holger]

Well, it all depends on the pitch...

 

[econfly]

I'm looking at getting those KDE triple Prop adapters for my S1000 for a high altitude (14,000ft) project I have coming up. Did you see a substantial increase in thrust with those?

KDE has specs on their webite: http://www.kdedirect.com/files/KDE_Direct_XF_M-R_Propeller_Adapter_Performance_Testing_V2.pdf

I would present the results a little differently than they did (keeping thrust or power consumption constant rather than throttle position for comparison purposes). But, the basic result for 3 vs. 2 props is you gain a little thrust with 3, but lose a little efficiency.

Personally, I think these KDE mounts along with the very affordable DJI 1552 props result in a very solid combination. Nice thrust per watt, convenience of a folding prop design, and nice stable flight. I'll probably go with the 2-blade design in my next build.

 

[Ronan]

Folding props (good quality ones) ROCK.
They actually cause WAY less vibration than normal props. Especially the 3 bladed ones.
They take just a few minutes to balance, and the tiny hit in efficiency you take I think is worth it.
To balance you simply weigh each blade and match them to the lightest. Most of the DJI 15/5 blades were spot on for me.

Transport is easier, and the cost is a LOT less.
View attachment 23554

What size lipo's and how long of a flight time do you get with your rig?

 

[SleepyC]

I get 10 min on 12,000Mha and around 13 min on 16,000MHa.
But I ma pretty conservative with flight times.

Also, most jobs, each shot is around 2 -3 minutes. So my Cam op keeps a running start stop stopwatch.
And I just change batts at 10 min.

 

[dazzab]

I've put these on three of my copters now that use T-Motors and props. It takes me about a minute to get the props on/off so now I never transport it with the props on. They are rock solid and very accurate. I just love them. http://www.foxtechfpv.com/propeller-quick-detach-cwccw-p-1303.html

 

[SleepyC]

I've put these on three of my copters now that use T-Motors and props. It takes me about a minute to get the props on/off so now I never transport it with the props on. They are rock solid and very accurate. I just love them. http://www.foxtechfpv.com/propeller-quick-detach-cwccw-p-1303.html

I was using these for a while, but got a scare on a fact descent. be careful with those.

 

[Holger]

Thanks for your replys so far.
I wondered if the screw adapters could come loose, esp with big props with lots of momentum.
What happened to you sleepyc?

Seems otherwise like everyone is happy?
How exactly do I balance the foldable double/triple props?

 

[econfly]

Thanks for your replys so far.
I wondered if the screw adapters could come loose, esp with big props with lots of momentum.
What happened to you sleepyc?

Seems otherwise like everyone is happy?
How exactly do I balance the foldable double/triple props?

For the folding props start with a sensitive scale and weigh them. Match them by weight as best you can. If you find a pair that don't match well you can follow the usual process of adding a piece of tape to the light one. Beyond that, the second order issue is center of mass for each blade, which you can find by identifying the place on the blade that balances it (say on the edge of a credit card or some other thin balance point).

I found the DJI 1552s to be well matched as delivered (review here). After checking the weights on mine I just went them as-is (no balancing at all).