Hello here is the list I have comprised from some advice and research I have done so far and I would like to see what other input I could get from people on what I have so far plus what I may be lacking (I know I need a distribution board so if you can think of a good one that would be greatly appreciated). So far the frame is the only thing I've ordered so far I fell in love with it when I saw it. The main priority of this uav is high wind tolerance, so it will be a beast and a power hog I am aware but where I normally live there's no such thing as a calm day.
Frame: HobbyKing Predator 650
Controller: Pixhawk
Motor: Turnigy SK3 4240 620Kv
ESC: Hobywing Pentium 60A
Props: APC style 16x8
Battery: Zippy 8000mAh 4S (x2)
GPS: Ublox GPS
Telemetry: 3DR telemetry
Transmitter: Turnigy 9x
I will be doing fpv eventually with this uav but I am going to wait until I have most of this built for my funds to recuperate to get the equipment for that.
Replies
Hi Nick, I can vouch for the ESC/motor/prop combo. Due to my recent investigations I am leaning towards the use of CF props because of their lower rotational inertia. I have ordered a set of 18x6 props which weigh in at 35g each as compared to the APC style 16x8 at 53g. These will have a lower pitch speed so the maximum wind it can handle will be approx 25% less but 25 knots should still be perfectly fine. I am hoping to gain a bit of flight time too..
The Predator 650 looks like a nice frame however I can not see how you will fit this gear on it. Here is a photo of this frame with 14" props: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uploads/154127726X370464X5...
You might just squeeze those 16x8's in there but it would be very tight and there is a hell of a lot of frame under the prop... I would be concerned with efficiency and vibration due to the thrust being significantly interrupted twice per revolution. The Zippy 8Ah batteries are fairly hefty units weighing in at 760g a piece, two of these strapped on that frame is going to be a bit of a trick!
The frame is also not particularly 'low profile' compared to the standard 'two plate, 4 arm sandwich'. It looks like there is plenty of surface area to catch the wind. It also looks a little fragile for the amount of motor/prop you are suggesting. I custom made my frame from 2mm CF plate for the centre, 22x1mm tube for the arms and 16mm tube for the legs. It is 2.5x the size of the Predator and weighs approximately the same.
Here is my quad without the gimbal:
Quad_latest_small.jpg
Thank you for the input so it looks like I might be keeping the prop size down to a 14. I still want an aggressive pitch and strong motor so would you think a 14x8 and the same motor combination would work with my set up?