F.A.Q. a foldable H-copter

[quaddemon]

Hi all
today the maiden of the beta v2 in blustery conditions! All went well even if it was a short flight before my fingers freezed out too much!
I'm satisfied with the frame, with the suspended camera plate (no jello at all with the Gopro!) and with the RCtimer SimonK flashed ESCs :tennis:
I made a couple of test cuts with the CNC with black GRP and it seems everythink is ready for producing some kits...

 

[quaddemon]

I managed to put the CNC to work and produce some plates... this one will be a busy weekend

View attachment 9974

 

[quaddemon]

Here is a raw footage from today.
The weather left a windows of opportunity to test fly the F.A.Q. v.2 /Gopro combo:

 

[quaddemon]

The CNC router is not working due to some refinements in the design, but my personal FoldAQuad is progressing :tennis:
Today I dusted off my vacuforming machine and prepared a couple of test canopy: the one you can see in the pics is close to its final shape.
A location for Naza or similar GPS antenna will be formed in the next ones...

View attachment 10237View attachment 10238

 

[quaddemon]

I've modified the mold and the new Naza GPS canopy, but I suppose other brand will fit too, has been thermoformed... a copper plate below will insulate the GPS/compass from the electronics.

View attachment 10328

 

[quaddemon]

It seems that the target to this kind of multicopter likes to travel, hiking and outdoor activities
This hard shell case will protect the quad and, at the same time, whatever you stuff in your backpack :tennis:

 

[SMP]

Does this fit in the hard case fully assembled w motors and props?

 

[quaddemon]

Does this fit in the hard case fully assembled w motors and props?

Yes it does, providing the total motor height is no more than 46mm including prop mount.
Naza motors and similar fit without problem...

 

[dreslism]

I love this! I checked your website, but saw no info on ordering.

Do you have frame kits available? If so how much?

Where are you located at?

Thanks!,

Scott

 

[Pelted]

Really like this design too, it was a little spendy back in November when you were first making them.

 

[quaddemon]

Really like this design too, it was a little spendy back in November when you were first making them.

Thank you for your appreciation! I'm just preparing a little run of Foldacopter: I would like to point out that it's not my primary job of course, I have family, daily job and other hobbies (well, all related like hiking, travelling, photography...) but I'm happy to share this copter with those that appreciate it and need its features.
That said I don't want and can't compete with big china hobby stores: it's handcrafted and assembled one by one with love and care, ( even if with the CNC support for precision) this locate me in a privilegiate position, I can concentrate on quality and costant improvement without the stress of compete in a mass produced market exclusively oriented in profit: it's simply not my playground!
We're talking about assembling one or maximum two quads a week...
There is place for everyone,even for the 30$ HK folding quad.... just choose which game you want to play!

I'm still trying to find a convenient shipping method for overseas country: the couriers are all but cheap even if the parcel is small and relatively light!

It's spring time... go flying and have fun! :tennis:

 

[Pelted]

Oh, don't get me wrong there is a reason I don't want the cheap HK H-Quad besides it's just to big. As much as I like the quality of the QAV frames too 150+ for a frame is just a little more than I personally am willing to spend on a frame with out easily replaceable main components. What you've done is perfect for exactly it's target. I want one for taking on motorcycle trips and hiking. I appreciate the hand crafted work, and admire the quality from what I see in the photos. I think a lot of us here enjoy building these things but don't have access to the CNS stuff necessary. For me, i'd be interested in purchasing the plates and pre drilled arms sans assembly but for now I'll admire what you're doing here.

 

[quaddemon]

Hi everyone!
I wasn't disappeared in the outer space, just carried away in everyday business, family and so on!:tennis:
Meanwhile the FAQ quad has logged several flying hours without any kind of problem.
A couple of archeological mission have been accomplished with success proving, if necessary, that in harsh enviroment portability, reliability and robustness really count.
I like, without looking superb, to think at this quad as a Land Rover Defender: not the prettiest around, but effective!
A couple of shots for you to enjoy...

 

[quaddemon]

Today I had the unwanted proof of the F-A-Q sturdiness!
During a training flight with the dedicated beta brushless gimbal onboard, I loose orientation while trying some hard manouvers (I'm no Warthox at all! ) ant the quad penetrate itself full speed in a pine tree...
Fortunately it wasn't too tall and I managed to recover it just climbing the tree.

Considering the strenght of the impact I was happy to discover that the frame survived extremely well: the main structure was intact, the arms simply folded without hurting the plates, the gimbal just separated from the frame ungluing the support attachments. Five minutes later I was able to be in the air again

Ah, the funny part is that after recovering the frame I realized the Gopro wasn't there, nor in the frame neither on the ground

After few minutes of searching everywhere, we found it on the tree, hidden between the pinecones,two branches higher than where the copter was!

Sorry for the phone pictures, I was holding myself to a branch with one hand and shooting with the other!



View attachment 12803It looks worst than it really is, considering the 50kph impact!
View attachment 12804Just two drops of cyano for the camera mount attachments, unfold the arms and here we go!
View attachment 12805Spot the GoPro! :tennis:

 

[quaddemon]

At the moment I'm developing a Sony RX100 mount for the FoldACopter.
The prototype worked extremely well in a photographic session at an archeological site located in an urban location: very tight spaces for manouvering, surrounded by tall trees.
In the end we preferred to complete the job with the RX100 equipped FAQ, I must say with great results: great quality from the camera and a swift, agile machine to fly!
Here it is with his big brother Droidworx hexa

 

[quaddemon]

Hi guys
a new blog page was added to my www.dronecam.net site, enjoy

 

[badier]

looking good