Posted by Michael Donat on October 4, 2009 at 12:43pm
After looking at the suggested planes for use as a UAV, I noticed there not all that cheap.The plane considered for a UAV builder "on a budget" was still something like $110.00 without any electronics!I know the Easy Star is a pretty popular model in use with UAV construction, and even that is bumping $200.00 without a brushless motor.I came across the Dynam Hawk Sky and saw for $119.00 you get a plane simular to the body style of the easy star, a brushless and li-poly battery upgrade, and everything needed to fly out of the box.so my question pretty much is,first of all, does anyone own this plane?what is your guy's opinions on this plane?do you think it will get the job done?-Mike
I just got one of these and I can confirm that it's 72Mhz in the US. It's really quite an amazing deal, given that it comes with a LiPoly (looks like around 1500mah), balancing charger and wall wart. Not quite as much interior room as an Easystar, but enough. I'll fly this weekend and report back.
Firstly, I agree with Peter Meister on a purpose built platform. There is enough 'brain power' and experience in this DIY Drones site to get this done.
Well as for my Cloud Axn, it has crashed many times, including snapping it in half and rebuilt many times. I have now added more head room. It even has enough room for my Garmin Vista. It flies well at 820g (5 flights) and so far no crashes. Battery - 2200mAH LIPO. Added a 240W, 2200KV motor.
As I said, a purpose build platform would be ideal.
The HawkSky has quite a bit more room internally but with less foam won't be quite as strong. Flying too slowly I dropped mine on it's nose last week.
Poked in the bottom of the fuse you can see the the video transmitter. Behind that are 2 gyros, ESC and receiver. Hanging out is a power filter, OSD/altimeter and current sensor. The servos are just plugged in for testing. The foam box on the canopy keeps the mini-DVR camera/recorder from freezing and shutting down. The toggle switch turns the video system on and the video TX antenna is just behind it. The 2450mAh 25C 3S LiPo has taken a beating and still works reasonably well after a year. Battery slides into the nose with the bubble-wrap to stop it moving. That's one of my modified Dynam 6-channel transmitters.
I'm using the Clouds fly as a UAV test bed for my PicPilot. Overall I'm very pleased. I've certainly punished it and it has always come back for more. The stock airframe is not as spacious as the EZ, but I cut a door on the bottom of the fuse right under the wing (very close to the CG) and was able to neatly fit the PicPilot right in. That left the whole nose for battery so I'm running a 2600 LiPo. The airframe could stand to be stiffened up with some carbon rod as a full throttle burst will cause some tail wag, but I've been living with that so far. The servos are bottom of the line, but functional. I've stripped two so far after some major impact with the ground and just swapped them out for higher end models. The speed controller seems to be well made, and the motor is a cheap, noisy but functional outrunner. It's hit and miss. I know some people had to swap the motor out instantly as the magnets come unglued, but so far mine has hung in there.
Overall I would recomend it especialy when you consider the cost, but be prepared for some swapage of servos and possibly a motor early in the game. I'll try to post some pics if I ever get unburried.
That would be a great idea!
I dont want to steal it from you, but post a new blog about it.
maybe they can set up a paypal donation link and sooner or later be able to create a standard "DIY Drones" model that would be designed specifically for UAV use, making it roomy yet able to perform and sell it in the "Store" tab.
We should get some DIY funds together, and build a mold for our own flight platform. :) - I would throw money into that in a heartbeat. Then we could pump these out on the cheap :) Any takers....How hard can it be to do this. I can CNC these planes, but it would be better to do it with a mold IMHO.
After checking out the Clouds Fly on the linked website, I find it hard to believe that there is a lot of room in the Cloud fuse as the servos are inboard and the battery will take up room in the nose. Also the Cloud is temporarily unavailable according to the website.
I've been flying the same Dynam HawkSky for over a year (setup for fpv) and have two more work in progress. The main one will have all the UAV gear, including Ardupilot. I've recently put some info up on my RC Groups blog. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=276302
I'm building a custom circuit board for the electronics. The plan is to simplify construction and wiring.
It's a great plane for FPV and/or UAV. Dynam supply the kit with 4-channel RC (short range receiver). I'm using the Dynam 6-channel set and Corona receivers.
I've put an outrunner motor inside the pod (just what I had on hand) but the brushless kit comes with the motor outside on the back end of the pod. It's noisier than the EasyStar with the hard plastic mount. The ailerons are a bit small for anything but a light breeze.
The brushless version flies great. Loaded with gear it gets heavier and faster but still flies great. Yesterday I was flying in 20-30 KPH winds and at times ground speed was backwards at low throttle.
Comments
Well as for my Cloud Axn, it has crashed many times, including snapping it in half and rebuilt many times. I have now added more head room. It even has enough room for my Garmin Vista. It flies well at 820g (5 flights) and so far no crashes. Battery - 2200mAH LIPO. Added a 240W, 2200KV motor.
As I said, a purpose build platform would be ideal.
Poked in the bottom of the fuse you can see the the video transmitter. Behind that are 2 gyros, ESC and receiver. Hanging out is a power filter, OSD/altimeter and current sensor. The servos are just plugged in for testing. The foam box on the canopy keeps the mini-DVR camera/recorder from freezing and shutting down. The toggle switch turns the video system on and the video TX antenna is just behind it. The 2450mAh 25C 3S LiPo has taken a beating and still works reasonably well after a year. Battery slides into the nose with the bubble-wrap to stop it moving. That's one of my modified Dynam 6-channel transmitters.Paul
Overall I would recomend it especialy when you consider the cost, but be prepared for some swapage of servos and possibly a motor early in the game. I'll try to post some pics if I ever get unburried.
Brian
I dont want to steal it from you, but post a new blog about it.
maybe they can set up a paypal donation link and sooner or later be able to create a standard "DIY Drones" model that would be designed specifically for UAV use, making it roomy yet able to perform and sell it in the "Store" tab.
After checking out the Clouds Fly on the linked website, I find it hard to believe that there is a lot of room in the Cloud fuse as the servos are inboard and the battery will take up room in the nose. Also the Cloud is temporarily unavailable according to the website.
Comments?
Regards,
TCIII
I fly one of these and they are only $59 each. The Cloud has alot of room in it and is robust.
I am using it as a testbed for a camera first.
This guy in Hong Kong sells it,
http://www.pw-rc.com/product_info.php/cPath/67/products_id/1550?osC...
Has any member used this as a UAV yet?
I've been flying the same Dynam HawkSky for over a year (setup for fpv) and have two more work in progress. The main one will have all the UAV gear, including Ardupilot. I've recently put some info up on my RC Groups blog.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=276302
I'm building a custom circuit board for the electronics. The plan is to simplify construction and wiring.
It's a great plane for FPV and/or UAV. Dynam supply the kit with 4-channel RC (short range receiver). I'm using the Dynam 6-channel set and Corona receivers.
I've put an outrunner motor inside the pod (just what I had on hand) but the brushless kit comes with the motor outside on the back end of the pod. It's noisier than the EasyStar with the hard plastic mount. The ailerons are a bit small for anything but a light breeze.
The brushless version flies great. Loaded with gear it gets heavier and faster but still flies great. Yesterday I was flying in 20-30 KPH winds and at times ground speed was backwards at low throttle.
Paul
-
1
-
2
-
3
of 3 Next