APC for coaxials

[DucktileMedia]

After not having so much luck with the xoar props, I am back to my trust worthy APC SF's. As I was ordering some new props it just dawned on me that they make a 12x3.8 and 12x4.7. I'm just curious if anyone has tried this combination on a Y6 or X8 and noticed any benefits. Obviously the 12x3.8 would be on top and the 12x4.7 would go on the bottom. I have been using the 12x3.8's for a while and they just work and are super easy to balance since there is minimal hub mass. My other thought was switching all 8 props to the 12x4.7's since the 14's are way too much props for a 2814 IMHO.

 

[Bartman]

kloner was having the same problem with the wood props and it appears it was related to the HF firmware update that preceded the most recent one. if your problems were the same as what he was experiencing, it wasn't so much of a vibration as it was a feedback type throbbing originating at the FC. in the video he sent me the props never really vibrated but the whole heli was going nuts just as he'd try to lift off. he's updated the firmware to the newest version and he's back flying the Xoar props.

FWIW.

 

[kloner]

So last night we paniced and took the av200 and remounted it, slapped on a canon and bang,,,,,,,, ya know the drill..... i sat here all day yesterday pulling my hair out, got up early and was at the shoot in the dark and my last chance was a prop swap....... bingo, apc thin electric 12x6 and 12x8 and she was flying like a disco.......... that is some weird stuff going on. when i balance a xoar, the first thing i do is buildup the hub with ca,,,,,,, should i be doing it different? like shave/sand wood?

 

[DucktileMedia]

I never changed my firmware from 4.3.802. So thats clearly not what was going on. But I am curious to know if anyone has flown APC SF 12's with the 3.8 pitch top and the 4.7 bottoms with any better results than just flying all 8 the same pitch. Kloner, I switched to theA APC thins too and although they were a pain to balance they worked very smoothly and were amazingly quiet and smooth feeling. I wonder if the heavier weight of those thins makes things smoother in some way.

 

[kloner]

what is your all up weight? i keep bouncing around,,,,, but this last try was a 5 lbs 10 oz gimbal.... just added a 360 and we just switched up from a nex to cannon, think t2i When i took the cam off it was worse.

i've been messing with 12x6 all around and 12x6/12x8 and i don't see a difference......

 

[Bartman]

i've tried the APC 12x3.8 on top with the 4.7 on the bottom. they're both pretty flat pitch so you won't see a huge difference. with same pitch top and bottom my heli's feel like a car driving on the ice. response just isn't as crisp. YMMV

 

[DucktileMedia]

I honestly cant remember off hand. It's either 10.75 or 11.75 lbs AUW. flying 12"x3.8 SF on 2814's on 4s.

 

[Stacky]

My X8 with all 8 props as APC 12x3.8's hovers at 42amps, with 12x3.8 on top and thin electric 12x6 props hovers at 40 amps

 

[DucktileMedia]

alright. Thanks for the inputs. I'll keep it simple. I just need to fly for 5 minutes anyways and I'm usually done and planning next shot.

 

[Bartman]

So last night we paniced and took the av200 and remounted it, slapped on a canon and bang,,,,,,,, ya know the drill..... i sat here all day yesterday pulling my hair out, got up early and was at the shoot in the dark and my last chance was a prop swap....... bingo, apc thin electric 12x6 and 12x8 and she was flying like a disco.......... that is some weird stuff going on. when i balance a xoar, the first thing i do is buildup the hub with ca,,,,,,, should i be doing it different? like shave/sand wood?

Steve,

I use aluminum duct tape to balance my props. cut strips about the thickness of the prop hub then cut the strips into 1/2" pieces. i build up a few, then put a longer piece over them, then a few more short ones, then another longer one. out of ten props, two might not need anything, 5 or six need a few pieces, and 2 might need more than I usually expect. all of my flying has been with the Xoar props and I can't say I've ever seen anything like what you and Yuri have experienced.

If you have time and can repeat the problem, try to get a better video showing exactly what is happening.

Bart

 

[DucktileMedia]

Bart, did you ever test balance those Xoars I sent back to you? Still curious to know if it was just my lack of balancing skills that was/is the problem. I know 2 of them were way out of the ballpark and didnt balance with 10+ pieces of that aluminum tape.

 

[Bartman]

Yuri,

I don't think you had any problems with balancing them. The props you sent me are in the box with the others and I just pull a few out when I need them. It was a mistake on my part to accept props drilled to 1/4" when I asked for 6mm, not that that was such a big problem but the props are so integral to these heli's that they really need to be perfect.

There's usually a couple that are way out, it's wood after all. Some of the motors are using 8mm prop shafts so I was thinking about a jig that could hold the prop so I could move the hole a little bit one way or another for the ones that are way out. the ones that are dead on could just be redrilled to 8mm without any change of location. it's a lot of work though so it probably wouldn't be worth it. the electric Xoar props are worse than the nitro props to balance, i know that much.

 

[DucktileMedia]

I would agree on both of those reasons being why they didnt work. i know it wasnt a firmware issue. spinning anything that fast they really do need to be spot on. Hopefully you can make use of them.

 

[jfro]

My X8 with all 8 props as APC 12x3.8's hovers at 42amps, with 12x3.8 on top and thin electric 12x6 props hovers at 40 amps

Is there a designation for APC like push/pull or something that lets you know what to buy on the 12 x 3.8 and 12x6 thin?
If so, which one goes top and which for the bottom?
I assume the 12 x 3.8 are the slow flys?

 

[jcmonty]

Depends on your flight controller as to what goes top or bottom. But APC calls clock wise props pusher and counter clockwise is standard

 

[jfro]

I building xy8 with HFP. Top motors are clockwise and bottom motors spin counter.

Confusing! Here are a bunch of single props I found from APC. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
2 called pusher, 1 counter rev, and the rest have no designation.

APC 11 X 4.7 SLOW FLYER PROPELLER, REVERSE PITCH LP11047SFP
APC 11 X 4.7 SLOW FLYER PROPELLER LP11047
APC 11 X 7 SLOW FLYER PROPELLER LP11070SF
APC 11 X 7 THIN ELECTRIC PROPELLER LP11070E




APC 12 X 3.8 SLOW FLYER PROPELLER LP12038SF
APC 12 X 3.8 SLOW FLYER PUSHER PROPELLER LP12038SFP


APC 12 X 6 SLOW FLYER PROPELLER LP12060SF

APC 12 X 6 THIN ELECTRIC PROPELLER LP12060E
APC 12 X 8 SLOW FLYER PROPELLER LP12080SF
APC 12 X 8 THIN ELECTRIC PROPELLER LP12080E

 

[SMP]

Iris, Kloner, am with you on the Xoars... No clue why, but the AD6 simply starts shaking like crazy with these mounted. Have pulled them off and rechecked balance several times and still they just wont fly. Even checked tip alignment. No joy. Toss the 13" APC thins on and she flies great, toss the 12" carbons on and it flies like butter. No clue.

Just got the Jib with 15" Xoars and am dealing with AV200 issues so haven't had a chance to fly it but hoping the woodies don't play the same way...