Hi All,
Some of you may remember a while back I put in some posts on F3330 and F450 DJI FlameWheel QuadCopters detailing construction and operation.
I really love those little FlameWheels for delivering many hours of fun and resisting my every effort to destroy them.
I thought I'd try and kick it up a notch this time.
Something even more indestructible and maybe even more fun.
The Flip frame kit is $89.00 from Hoverthings and it is billed as being nearly indestructible, and short of direct Nuclear blast effects, they are probably right.
In addition to the standard kit I added an extended tab pair of center frame pieces and some 7/8" extenders.
My intention is to mount the battery on the bottom a four in one 25 amp ESC in the middle and a PX4FMU/PX4IO controller, a receiver and FPV transmitter between the 2 no tab top frame center plates and a UBlox GPS on top.
I have the 4 in 1 ESC and 4 DJI Flamewheel motors on order.
The arms on these Flips are billed as being incredibly stiff and incredibly strong.
They appear to be made of CNC milled very high density 1/4" thick fiberglass and are stiffer than anything that is not carbon fiber and likely a lot better able to withstand punishment without failing.
The frame centers are also very strong and stiff fiberglass and it is likely all of it is G10.
This is a 380 size frame and will accommodate 10" propellers (Right between the Flamewheel F330 and F450.)
I will be using Gemfan 10" carbon filled propellers that are DJI motor hub compatible. I have had very good luck with these propellers, they are very tough, quite efficient and not as sharp as more expensive carbon fiber propellers.
I will add details of my build as the parts come in and as I can get it put together, the motors and 4 in 1 ESC are coming from China, so it may take a while, but I have been very happy with my Flamewheels and I expect this to be - Better.
Comments
Hi LTMNO,
This is actually the stock FLIP Sport frame to which I have added an additional pair of their "tab" type frame center plates using some of their optional 7/8" risers.
I will be using at least 4 small pieces of Zeal Gel under the flight controller to mitigate the vibrations, and do not expect results to be significantly different than my F450 or F350 DJI Flamewheels.
I expect they will be in the 0.1 G range.
The frame is extremely rigid, even more so than the Flamewheels.
It's great that they have come out with a new frame... I would be very interested in seeing some Vibration readings on it. If anyone could share that would be greatly appreciated...
Got in My Hobbywing 25 amp 4 in one ESC today and it looks like it should work beautifully.
The motor leads are way longer than they need to be, but are terminated with bullet connectors that match the DJI motors perfectly so I will figure out how to tuck them in and the nice thick aluminum top plate should damp AC EMF emissions reducing interference.
One of the real advantages of this configuration though is it virtually eliminates all of the DC field you get from normal DC battery wiring to the power distribution board and to the individual ESCs.
This greatly reduces the DC EMF which interferes with the magnetometer.
It is also just ther right thickness to fit between the 2 center plates on the FLIP frame.
I got mine from Off Grid Water (actually drop shipped from China) a little over a week.
http://mymobilemms.com/OFFTHEGRIDWATER.CA/index.php?main_page=produ...
I strongly recommend you get the slightly more expensive one shown here as it includes a handy little transmitter programming hub that sets up all 4 ESCs simultaneously (the weird little connector/cable thing with 4 3 pin connectors on one end and 1 3 pin connector on the other).
Instructions are included.
The 20 amp one is shown in the picture, but is identical to the 25 amp one except it is marked 25AX4 instead of 20AX4.
I just got the DJI motors in for this and thought I'd put them on with my GemFan 10" DJI hub compatible carbon filled props to let you see how they match up.
10" is definitely the biggest prop that will fit on this, but given how well they work on the Flamewheel F450 I expect them to work really well on this.
Hi Hugues,
I bought an extra set of their "4 tab center plates" and then used their 7/8" spacers to space them out on the bottom as well as spacing the extra no tabs center up on the top, using their normal short spacers in the middle where the Arms mount.
Makes it a bit thicker that way, but protects the battery on the bottom, leaves space for a 4 in 1 ESC in the middle and provides a top hat over the PX4, Receiver and other electronics on top.
And RD and Michael, Those miniature kangaroos are cute enough to preempt any article, I agree a Quadcopter Bettong video would be really interesting, probably going to need to optimize your propellers for silence, oversize 11" carbon filled GemFans work really well for that.
Really nice Flip FPV by the way, very serious antenna and the landing gear looks very substantial, probably does a better job of keeping it out of the dirt and dust.
Neat! If it is in the picture, it is on topic!
You should put on an IR camera and fly at night, then also do a Bettong census using the quad. Might get some funding from your version of Land and Animal Management agency. Edit the video and sell it with a title like: "Bettongs Gone Wild" or "The Secret Lives of Bettongs: Recorded with FPV Drone Technology"
;)
-=Doug
Hughes - link to supplier web site here - may provide enough detail for you.
and not wanting to drift too much off topic.... burrowing bettong (Bettongia lesueur).
MJ
Nice little one. Can you post a picture of the bottom plates ? I'd like to see how these are assembled.
Thx
We have a lot of neighborhood feral cats, a lot of white tail deer, a few raccoons and a couple skunks but no bettongs.
Probably wouldn't like the cats anyway but he is really cute - Eastern?
I accidentally got a spare set of the landing gear, didn't notice it came with the bare frame, but it doesn't seem like it will break easily.
Even though I didn't get the FPV frame I am going to try and set it up for FPV using the double stacked frame I put together, it'll be interesting to see if I can stuff it all in there.
With the tab bottom plate, that the battery will be on top of I think I could just put a rubber skid pad on that and skip the landing gear anyway.
Don't scare that bettong now, he looks worried, although I expect they always look worried.
Yep - I've got the FPV Flip version but using it as a FPV machine rather than UAV. This frame is a great deal stronger than the Flamewheel variants... but that being said I have broken an arm following some gravity testing. (It was still on).
I also ripped the clip-on landing gear off very quickly (learner FPV pilot). I believe that the gear has been strengthened in more recent frames. Hence the heli skids.
A pic of mine.... at probably the first meeting of a multirotor and a bettong.