Hello,
I am building a sensor for vegetation survey,all together its 718 grams.I and looking for a fixed-wing (preferably) to carry it and the whole thing need to be under 2kg ( CASA regulation in australia to flight without spending a lot in licence ).
For now its just a prototype and i need to test my sensor with real condition.I am looking for a 10~15 min flight at a 50 m altitude (if things work fine i will be looking for a large drone that can fly for hours).In the 718 gram there is already a RTK-GPS that could be use also for navigation.
Do you know if its possible to carry that much weight witouth being over 2kg ?
Vincent
Replies
Vincent do you have any dimensions for your sensor platform?
Will it fit inside a 60mm wide fuselage and be orientated properly?
For off the shelf fully integrated system, the Event38 E384 will carry the 780gram payload and is available off the shelf and fully integrated. It might be a little on the heavy side but the Event38 guys may be able to set you up with a configuration that would be under 2kg with your payload.
Do it yourself, you can get the Skywalker2013 and build it up from scatch. However, for do it yourself, I think I would try Gary's recommendation of the Bixler 3 first. You will want to get the landing flaps working with the full 780gram payload but it would be a total weight would be under 2Kg.
I have a Bixler 2 that flies for an 1.5 hours on a charge with a total weight of 1.1Kg. I do not even use the flaps for landing.
Probably want to get the Bixler 3 flying, and the flaps working, then fit a mass simulator. First flights without payload mass simulator! :-)
It's plenty tough depending on how you land! ;-)
VTOL QP tends to be kinder to airframes, especially for novice users. Structurally we haven't had any problems in flight whatsoever, even in up to 70kmh wind. Hard landings should be avoided, in any aircraft however. Having two independant flight control and propulsion systems helps.
What would be handy before actually being able to suggest a airframe is to know the exact orientation and dimensions of the proposed sensor payload. It's quite possible it won't fit in any of the suggested airframes, due to the dimensional constraints of the fuselage or the positioning of the sensor mass in relation to the CoG.
Sorry Gary but forget the Bixler for flight performance and endurance. It's a good trainer, but not that great for much else.
If anything get a XUAV Mini Talon, if the imaging systems fits inside the fuselage (which is bigger than the Bixler 3). We even have a VTOL quadplane version that could be trimmed down to 2kg. It will also do over an hour with that configuration (we've done over 2 hour flights before).
Vincent where abouts are you located? We're in Perth, and would be happy to set one up for you, provided your sensor array will fit inside. Let us know if we can help.
@Rob some folks carry almost a kg of FPV gear in them. Remember they have bigger wings now.
A Phantom 3 without the gimbal should fit the bill.
Gary, you really think that you could get that Bixler to fly with 780g payload? If you did, I would be amazed.
Put a 3000 mah battery in a Tuff Wing mapper and it should meet all your requirements.
http://tuffwing.com/products/drone_mapper.html
Thanks !
I am definitely happy to do that if you live in Australia. Be a good pilot take time and practice,not gonna happen for me before long time but i need these data lol
I will go through training, i have no intention to buy an RC fixed wing and start alone,for now i am just evaluating if what i am looking to do is possible,devil is in the detail and i don't want to miss any detail.
Vincent
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