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
For anyone building with a Pixhawk, I ended up using 1 1/18" standoffs for the top plate. That gives enough room for the PixHawk and Vibration isolation, with enough room left over to keep the cables coming off the top from touching the top plate and causing any vibration issues. So far its really nice. 1 crash in my first 3 flights with no damage. It is a tough bird.
Doh. I ordered the 10 and 8, but it appears that RC Dude is aware of the issue. They sent me only 8s
That should get fixed in the wiki to avoid further confusion.
I stuck with actual DJI motors and mine fit well
the links in the wiki point you to 2 different sized props, so just keep your heads up.
I've got parts all over the place now, had to file down my 10" props to fit on the DJI clone motors I have
Hi Gary
Thanks for posting this design. I am trying to build one as my first ever quad. I have the same question Hughes asked. FYI I am getting my directions from here(http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/hoverthings-flip-sport-quadcopter/)
The issue is step 4 of Assembling the frame:
Assemble the 2 tabbed center sections with four 7/8″ standoffs on the 2 holes an inch apart 2″ in from the end on 2 opposing sides.
I am not exactly sure what you mean by this and the location of these screws is not shown in any of the pictures. Another picture would help viewing the bottom or side showing these screws and the positioning of the battery of the battery.
And while I am asking... Any more comments on how you like the design after you have been using it for a while?
Thanks
Kent
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
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next