Hoverfly Gimbal For Aerovideo's Homebrew?

[Aerovideo]

That is EXACTLY what I had envisioned when I originally started on this. It was supposed to have a little go pro gimbal up front, folding arms inward and the upper isolation plate. I just didn't pull it off, but this is definitely it!

Nice job! Too bad about the jello, maybe softer dampeners are needed?

I wonder if that top plate is acting like a wing and catching the wind? Maybe that's the stability problem? Not sure, I never flew mine in very strong wind.

 

[Earl E Adobtr]

Yeah, the wavy gravy was from the software. In most cases the gimbal/software combo produces usable footage but it was a little too violent up there that day. I'm getting good results on normal days but test flights are usually around the house and I can't bear to show any more of THAT. The goal is portability convenience and high usability. I have the portability and convenience part down bit the usability part may take a bit longer.

 

[Earl E Adobtr]

That's Better

Haven't been able to do anything rc related for a week which is probably a good thing eaceful:. Today I punched holes in the top plate and also removed the fcb from the top plate and mounted it on the "dirty" middle plate. Voila! Vast improvement in how it behaves in wind - I was able to boost the gain 30% which I think accounts for most of the wind behavior improvement. I should have remembered my tests I did when I first got the HFP board: mounting on mushy surfaces = less stability. Have no idea why but it certainly is true. So even those 4 isolator rings supporting the top plate were degrading board performance and perhaps having the gimbal moving around on that same plate was contributing. My final improvements for this machine will be a cf/birch lam top plate to save weight and more flow through for the frame. Vids when I can get to some place interesting! Paul, I think this thing is finally worthy - a few more weeks and I should have something.

 

[Aerovideo]

Haven't been able to do anything rc related for a week which is probably a good thing eaceful:. Today I punched holes in the top plate and also removed the fcb from the top plate and mounted it on the "dirty" middle plate. Voila! Vast improvement in how it behaves in wind - I was able to boost the gain 30% which I think accounts for most of the wind behavior improvement. I should have remembered my tests I did when I first got the HFP board: mounting on mushy surfaces = less stability. Have no idea why but it certainly is true. So even those 4 isolator rings supporting the top plate were degrading board performance and perhaps having the gimbal moving around on that same plate was contributing. My final improvements for this machine will be a cf/birch lam top plate to save weight and more flow through for the frame. Vids when I can get to some place interesting! Paul, I think this thing is finally worthy - a few more weeks and I should have something.

Hey that sounds great, glad you were able to figure out the stability issues. Never thought of the gimbal movements getting translated back to the FC and messing it up. Good catch.

Sounds like it will be ready just in time for some spring camping!

P.S. I've been messing around with a waterproof frame (AquaCopter) I bought months ago and never did anything with. Not sure I like it though as landing gear ideas on this thing are tough.

 

[Earl E Adobtr]

I flew in gusty wind around the house today and stability is much improved since the last video. I don't think it's ever going to be great in wind with this quad but it felt good flying and post stab footage is better than above "kite" vid. The 1/16" cf/birch lam top plate shaved about 45 grams off, so the whole thing is now 1501 grams. I must say, the HFP stability with this quad is truly remarkable in calm conditions and hopefully I can eventually show that. Unfortunately I was called back to the place I retired from to see them through a rough patch for the next few months and it's leaving me no time. It does put some guilt free pin money in my pocket tho :tennis:. This, by the way completes the project. On to the next one!

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[Earl E Adobtr]

Here's a more representative example

 

[Aerovideo]

Nicely done, I can't believe you fly through some of the spots you do. That was REALLY smooth, I liked it!

 

[Earl E Adobtr]

Wind Performance

I went back and updated the cf tube and delrin block form factor to get something that performs better in wind than the original "homebrew". Here is some video (post stab applied) from first flight today. Certainly not perfect but wind gusts were up there as you can see so I'm pretty happy with the performance of this with the little gimbal (same design but camera on top).

Here are a few photos to go with.

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It's about 3" longer than "Homebrew" but still weighs 1520 grams fully loaded. It's also pretty darn stable so NOT putting large flat surfaces on your copter DOES improve wind handling by quite a bit.

 

[Aerovideo]

I went back and updated the cf tube and delrin block form factor to get something that performs better in wind than the original "homebrew". Here is some video (post stab applied) from first flight today. Certainly not perfect but wind gusts were up there as you can see so I'm pretty happy with the performance of this with the little gimbal (same design but camera on top).

Here are a few photos to go with.

View attachment 14012View attachment 14013View attachment 14014

It's about 3" longer than "Homebrew" but still weighs 1520 grams fully loaded. It's also pretty darn stable so NOT putting large flat surfaces on your copter DOES improve wind handling by quite a bit.

WOAH, I can't believe you flew in that kind of wind. Looked like it was blowing pretty hard, still some good results. Looks like your original design may have been best after all

I haven't been around here much as I only have time for about 1 project at a time and that lately has been my CC3D controller. Glad to see you're making some good progress.

Have you seen the brushless motor based gimbals? Seems like they are all in development at the moment but the results so far also look pretty good.

 

[Earl E Adobtr]

CC3D controller? Two Hero's hooked together or??? No, I haven't given up on Homebrew - CF Tube was resurrected to confirm that open architecture improves wind performance - I figure that was about 20 mph gusts. Homebrew is getting more mods. I've been eying the brushless gimbal motor setups and so far they look too heavy and I sure don't need any more weight hanging on the end on an "H". Yeah, I've been fitting in bench time where I can too - still consulting and I'm supposed to be retired. Hero3 died on it's own yesterday and none of GoPro's suggestions work so it probably needs to go in for warranty work. Making friends with the Hero2 again