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3D RoboticsPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on October 19, 2012 at 8:50pm

1) We strongly recommend you also use RC gear as safety measure, so you can always regain manual control

2) You don't need sonar. It will do it fine with the standard APM 2.x board using the baro sensor

3) Hexas can carry heavier payloads (such as larger cameras)

4) It depends on what kind of battery you use, but 15-20mins is reasonable.

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Permalink Reply by Stephen R Mann on October 19, 2012 at 8:55pm

I am a newbie here, but I'll give it a shot.

• Can I fly the Ardu Copter purely from my laptop with the 3DR Radio Telemetry Kit? Do I need a remote control? 
  No.  You need a remote control.
  I guess that you could program a mission in the laptop and rewrite the arming code in the APM because you hold normally the yaw (rudder) stick full right for a few seconds to arm the copter.
  I would strongly recommend learning to fly the copter with the R/C before moving on to missions.  First, you really need to "feel" how your copter flies, and second, and more important  you really need to have the remote at your fingertips to take over is something goes wrong with the mission.
  Buy spare parts, props, a couple of motors, maybe an arm - YOU WILL CRASH while learning to fly.
  
  
• With Sonar, can the UAV automatically land and takeoff? 
  I believe the answer to this is yes, but.....
  You still have to arm the motors from the remote. And while there is a "Land" command, it really is a "Bounce" command.  Yes the copter will land, and immediately lift off again.  And land again.  The way I land mine is to switch to stabilize mode as the copter reaches a few inches off the ground, then I manually land.  I did make a recommendation to the developers that if you are in the Land Mode and the sonar reports less than six-inches, cut the motors.  I haven't heard if any of the developers has read that yet.
  
  
• What are the advantages of the hexa vs quad copter? 
  Hex will lift more weight, but at an endurance cost.  
  The quad is cheaper.
  
  
• How long is the battery life?
  My 3DR hex gets about 7 minutes on a 2200mAh battery.  I get more than 10 minutes on a pair of them in parallel.  I just received a 5000mAh battery today, and if it doesn't rain tomorrow, I plan to see what the endurance is.
  
  
  

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