New 540 Class Folding Quad Frame

[Earl E Adobtr]

Most of you "older" guys know me from the nostalgic Hoverfly days. Back then I was building experimental folding quadcopter frames Some of you pm'd me back then expressing interest and asked to be notified if I ever started selling a version of the design. So a few years later, after a lot of cad work, building testing and more cad work, and more testing I might have something worthy of your scrutiny. Take a look at the PDF for the sales blurb side. The frame weighs in at 500 grams (because it's designed for punishment) but outfitted with Vector, Afro Slim's, E-Max 3506 650kv's, 4300mah 4S ReadyMade, Stella gimbal, Immersion 600W transmitter, FrySky L9R receiver and GoPro it weighs in at a little under 1800 grams. That get's you 15 solid minutes in mixed conditions. If you throw on a 5300 4S you get a solid 20 minutes. I haven't started officially selling them yet but I cut a few for some fliers I know at the local field and getting a lot of enthusiastic feedback from them and interest from other fliers who see it in action. That's why I'm thinking I finally have "something". I've flown it in some pretty nice places and it has definitely performed

PM me if you're interested - this is strictly for the hard core crowd at the moment; you won't find it on RCGroups or anywhere else for that matter.

All The Best,

Paul

 

[Mactadpole]

I like it! Not in the market at the moment, but its at the top of my list when I am. Plus I like that its from a veteran MR'r!

Good luck!

 

[Earl E Adobtr]

I like it! Not in the market at the moment, but its at the top of my list when I am. Plus I like that its from a veteran MR'r!

Good luck!

Thanks Shawn!

 

[Mactadpole]

Hey Paul,

Could you post some pics of the copter built out? I have directed others to this post and I think they want some pics of the copter with the gimbal mounted and battery in place, etc.

Thanks!

 

[Earl E Adobtr]

here you go, gents

 

[Mactadpole]

I dig how pretty much everything is tucked inside and protected.

 

[Earl E Adobtr]

I dig how pretty much everything is tucked inside and protected.

even the motors are virtually protected - arms will collapse both ways if hit hard enough because they sit on top instead of being sandwiched between frame members. And when they do collapse the props aren't cutting up your wiring or slicing through your gps.

 

[Mactadpole]

What size motors and props are you using and what can it handle?

 

[Earl E Adobtr]

What size motors and props are you using and what can it handle?

Recommended gear is listed above. Obviously this is optimized to get perfect video. If you need a hauler, this isn't going to fill the bill but it will comfortably carry a second camera devoted to infrared and near infrared, object avoidance sensors, lidar or any of the other myriad add - ons that seem to be proliferating as we speak. As it sits it will comfortable handle another 350 grams and still get you about 12 minutes of mixed flying time. I am partnered with a company that is testing a high capacity (Tesla style cells) on my rig and we are getting about 40 minutes flying time. This means, once he starts producing we can add larger motors and props so increase the payload/air time.

 

[Mactadpole]

Hey Paul,

Sorry I missed that on the motors above. I see from the pics that these are CF 11x3.7 props. Curious if you've tried 12".

I really like the sounds 40 minute flight! It would be great to have that flight time on such a small machine for mapping purposes. I am eagerly watching the multispek mapping camera system to see if users are impressed. It's a lot of money but if it truly works then I'm all in so I can fly smaller copters.

 

[Earl E Adobtr]

Man I hear you there. Those "monsters" are yesterday's news.

 

[SchrodingersCar]

Very interested in this frame!... It's hard to tell from the photos, but is there a locking mechanism keeping the arms in place, or is it just screw torque? Is there danger of arms moving or rotating during aggressive flight? Is there a significant difference in flight behavior due to what appears to be the motors being closer together on the sides, as opposed to a typical symmetrical X configuration?

 

[Earl E Adobtr]

PDF shows arm detent scheme. They don't budge unless you crash. The couple of "testers" I have sold these to locally say it has the best feel of any copter they have flown. I've become partial to NAZA M for the one I use but it flies beautifully with Vector as long as you don't need the rock solid GPS hold that NAZA has. I have a Pixhawk on order to test & tweak, but that's mainly to please the pattern flying commercial crowd.

 

[SchrodingersCar]

Cool. How much?? (I can PM if you prefer). I'm looking to strip down my F550 with naza v2 and just use those components as a start. Hopefully 4 of the DJI 2212 motors will cut it until I can upgrade? (Ecalc seems to think so, though flight times will be short)

 

[Earl E Adobtr]

If you're not prepared to use the key recommended components (Stella gimbal @$299 is your big ticket item) then you should wait. I've already tested this frame with all of the possible combinations of gimbals, motors and props to save the end user from going through trial and error purchases that lead to less than perfect AV and handling. The MT 3506 -650k's with the 11" 3.8's are the sweet spot. I didn't care for the 2216's on this frame and the 2212's were a mess.

 

[SchrodingersCar]

Hmm. Good to know. I'm sure you are right about the motors, but I've already got a $350 zenmuse gimbal that is great... are there potential issues with this gimbal?

 

[Earl E Adobtr]

The Zenmuse mounts the camera so that the lens is positioned to the outside, not the center of the gimbal Consequently left side props show when using the Zenmuse. Other than that it performs great. I started with Zenmuse then switched to Stella for that reason.

 

[SchrodingersCar]

Got it. A lot to consider. Thanks for all the info!

 

[Earl E Adobtr]

Thanks for checking it out. Yeah, I had to swap out a lot of components to get the desired outcome. They always found their way into another copter or found a home with someone at the field that happened to need it. If all the components finally mesh together on a single copter you finally settle down and concentrate on flying and photographing. It's a relief. That's the main reason for this project - passing along 3 years worth of info, encapsulated into one machine. By the way, Shawn, a heavy lifter capable of 9 lb payload with the same form factor as this one is about 3 months out.

 

[Earl E Adobtr]