Ok, so I am very amazed at the capabilities of a lot of these builds, and have been thinking of getting into this, but does anyone in this forum play with larger engines and build sizes? I am talking like 5-10 horsepower builds. Something with real range and capability. I like the idea of the lifters for aerial photography, but a lot of them seem so flimsy it looks like a stabilization nightmare, not to mention expensive if it crashes. GoPros are nice and cheap, DSLR's are a bit more expensive, but they both have strong drawbacks, if I want to send up a real piece of equipment what other options are there?
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It is a common question, and there are individuals and groups who work with larger builds here. For my part, I would encourage anyone thinking of building larger planes, multicopters and helicopters alike to consider the benefits of building smaller platforms first. They are less expensive to explore the state of the technology, learn to build/operate, build confidence in the many compromises implicit in every aspect of the technologies in use, from power/weight/longevity issues in the airframe to various electronics, radio, and telemetry options.
Even if you do not plan on trusting it to actually carry your shiny new dSLR, it might be good to think of an initial build of a "reference" ArduPlane or ArduCopter sort of as a bit of safety gear, since it will go a long way towards allowing you to build capabilities and confidence while keeping the cost of this learning (i.e. crashes, design issues, expectations) much lower than if you go straight for the final objective. It will also very likely speed along your design, since you can more readily get help with a reference build, and do not face the triple challenge of simultaneously learning to build your first ArduPilotMega system, design and operate your ideal platform, and integrate the two, perhaps as the first person to do so.
Food for thought.