I am new to the whole drone thing, however I have been flying a quad for over a year, and RC planes since probably around 2002. I am looking to do a kit build with my son, I have been flying a small quad for a while and want to build something bigger with better flight time. I like the kits from 3DR I have been looking at the DIY quad kit. What I am wanting is something that can fly for a minimum of 30 minutes, telem and way-point flying, and 2 fpv. that is from 2 separate camera's. I am not sure if that is possible but I would like a stationary one looking forward and then a pan and tilt one underneath. My son and I are interested in using the quad for search and rescue so it might not always be LOS but fairly close. I know the suggestions for that. However there are a lot of forests where I live that I would have to fly above and might not be able to see it. This may pose a problem for the FPV so I want something that will work in this situation. this is confusing so here's a summary of what I want. What would be a good price range for this. I have looked at DJI, but I thought I might be able to build for cheaper, again I have never built a quad. I did build my planes though.
Search and rescue quad
min 30 minute flight time
FPV (2 seperate cameras if possible) through trees
Telemetry
manual and auto flight modes.
Replies
I too had an idea for about those same quad or hex specs but after a lot of research I figured out that what you are describing is what I would call a "heavy lifter". For that kind of payload and duration you are looking at 650mm, 800mm or even larger. You gotta swing big props.
You would be using a minimum of dual 20,000 6s which are several hundred dollars each and then you need a monster charger. Just to charge at 1C you need 20amps which is a big charger on 6s. Ohm's Law is still in effect:)
Not trying to discourage you but I just didn't want to take on all that expense and effort. I like flying them more than filming stuff so I went the other way and built a QAV250 FPV copter.
I also fly an Iris+. Mostly use it for hard to get aerial views of projects.
Search and rescue would be a fun rig to build.
If I decide to go back and build a heavy lifter it will be a plane. They are much more efficient at staying aloft and carrying payload if you don't have VTOL needs.
I would start looking at RTF copters that are advertised to carry that type of payload close to 30 minutes like this one and study the specs like payload capacity, frame size, prop size, motor size, battery capacity, etc. That will give you an idea of the parts list you would need to build one. Others have done it but it's not easy.
Good luck and BTW I think it's great that you do projects like this with your son. My father always did the same and there are many good memories.
mp
Thank you for the replies, I do appreciate it. I've been looking in to it more. the 2 camera thing would be fun but its not necessary. the longer flights with FPV are the main concern. Well and VTOL is necessary for this. It is always fun to do stuff with my son.