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Could the MAJA be modified to perform autonomously?

Posted by Tammy Harrison on February 13, 2011 at 4:19am

Has anyone who comes on here got a MAJA or flown one? If so please could you tell us what it's like to fly, handling, and all that jazz…

Does anyone think or know if the MAJA could be upgraded to perform autonomously & have RC control, use with a GCS, taking the payload of an IR camera or a live feed video.  Are we maybe asking too much of the UAV?

We have a small project on a ranch that we want to try. We don’t want to spend too much on it to start with, but we have a few $$$$'s to play with. Basically this is a project for my husband and I when away from the city, what we are looking for is a UAV that can be hand launched with the fly time of about 45+ minutes, range of about 10-15km (maybe less), with a live video feed and maybe an IR camera. Do you think the MAJA could be modified for this?

 

Thanks

Tam

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Replies

  • Ritchie February 13, 2011 at 7:00am

    Maja is a very expensive airframe but for the money you get enough space to fit everything you could possibly want (including a gerbil pilot probably). Compared to other frames this is like a mansion instead of a house and because of that it costs. With this vast real estate you can get the CoG right easier and load it with much more equipment.

    Trappy (a well known FPV pilot) has given his recommendations on endurance flight so I would try to stick close to them.

    1. 30° climb at WOT (so not very powerful) with as many batteries as you can fit
    2. WAY overpowered motor (600w/kg or 275w/lb) with high series battery (4S+)

    APM kit works wonderfully and is already inside a Maja by one of our members. You could also add video transmission kit. As you are in the UK like me I can give you a UK special :D Get down Focus and get a IR door cam for £10 they do 480lines and they have visible light filter, frankly they are epic for the price but you will need to hack the power connector to a battery.

     

    Definitely possible stuff and most is already available. Have fun!

  • Admin
    Thomas J Coyle III February 13, 2011 at 5:49am

    @Tam,

    Check here for build log: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1118600&highlig...

     

    Check here for original thread:http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1095996 

     

    Look at videos at Bormatec:http://www.bormatec.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=artic...

     

    I have a Maja and it is just about ready for its maiden flight. It is an expensive model. I payed $330 USD plus shipping late in 2009. I also added the landing gear for another $75 USD. The Maja is difficult to build and because of its design is extremely tail heavy which means that the batterys all have to be up front. However there is plenty of room in the fuse for raido and autopilot gear. It has enough payload capacity to easily carry a GoPro Hero and another camera of your choice.

    Because of its size, it is really a two person plane to get it launched. That is why I chose the landing gear. Easy to take off, but harder to land. You need the landing gear if you wan to mount the camera on the bottom of the fuse.

    You can buy the Maja prebuilt. However, one of the prebuilt ones had the motor housing come off during the first flight. I made major modifications to the orginal build just to make sure that it would come back in one piece.

    Hope this helps.

    Regards,

    TCIII

  • Moderator
    Gary Mortimer February 13, 2011 at 5:46am

    Well it could of course but it does not have many good reviews to its name cost/vs performance all the dudes are rushing for these at the minute http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1325273 does look like a great platform.

     

    What you want is easily achived but don't expect to spend less than $5000, probably more like $10,000 from scratch.

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