My electric multicopter is 25 feet wide from propeller tip to tip. Testing it in my driveway is no longer a viable option. Mechanical and electrical failures have been eliminated, and now it's time to tune the world's largest craft with the APM at its core. This copter has been in development for 8 years, so it's not the first time it has been throttled up - not by a long shot.
I need a low-cut grass field perhaps a minimum of 250 feet square or so. If you're an aviation enthusiast and want to be part of something cool, send me a message. Rental by the day would be considered. The copter does break down to fit on a trailer, so driveway access is also required. Thanks for your interest and support!
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Hi Brad, I put a comment at the end of your Large Multicopter forum, then found this with the picture.
Absolutely amazing!
I know it's the middle of the winter there now and lots of snow, so I presume outdoor testing is unlikely to resume till spring, but have you gotten it to fly remote yet?
The picture shows what seem to be the aluminum center foam covered rotors you described.
Are those working out?
I would really like to see a Info BLOG on DIYDrones about the best commercially available propellers / rotors available for multicopters of various sizes and you definitely seem like one of the best qualified people who contribute to this site to provide valuable input.
I am definitely not. I am a retired microcomputer engineer and although I am a pilot and was briefly involved in the construction of an RV4 I am much more qualified on the electronics side of things.
As I became more and more involved in multicopters it did become clear to me is that perhaps the most important single aspect of them was very poorly understood, the propellers / rotors.
Most of what we have are simply slow flight fixed wing electric propellers, some of which have been strengthened to take the higher stresses of static thrust.
Bottom up design completely. - Sucks!
What we need is top down design specific to multicopters of various sizes and capabilities of this singularly most important component.
I read the PDF you linked to about the "flapping" rotor and the blades on those were certainly radical though I doubt that the flapping mechanism is a requirement or of primary importance for use.
In any case I will probably start a BLOG about "Best propellers for Multicopters" and I would greatly appreciate it if you would consider contributing to it.
Basically I would like it to provide a basis for discussion of the best currently available propellers and to provide a forum for future proper propeller design for multicopters.
Our needs are clearly not the same as planes or variable pitch helicopters and the designs we eventually see in use are likely to be very different from what is in use now.
Thank you in advance for considering this request to participate.
PS. I do tend to be a little wordy, - - but thorough.
I've been terribly remiss in my investigation of this site.
Brad, you did a maiden last year on *my* birthday. This year on my birthday, my first quad got some air.
I have family in Illinois though down in the central east section.. perfect for your testing though they have about given up the land there.
What is the status of this now?
-=Doug
I am trying to come up with a suitable expletive. Holy smokes? Ay Caramba? Not quite.
MOTHER OF FRANKENSTEIN!
That thing is HUGE.
I'm having trouble finding enough space to fly my 2ft wide copter because I suck as a pilot.
Tip: Look at the shadow on the gound, that shows the design clearly
Thats a beast Brad... Are you planning on sitting on top of it?