Maybe someone has encountered a small scale parachute ?
I'd like to add a safety parachute to the Arducopter !! help me decide....
As part of the project is to use an expensive DSLR on the copter,
My GF said i must have some kind of emergency parachute... after joking at it, i thought deeper -
I'd rather feel much safer having a parachute as backup to all electronics (even though i plan on 6 or 8 motors)
Just imagine an emergency button that will immediately turn off all motors and shoot a parachute.
questions:
as parachute takes some time to open (=some free fall height), the benefits are sure and obvious for a 100m fall.
but if i'm around 5m above ground, (which can still be nasty to the DSLR) - would i have enough "falling time" to open the parachute and having enough braking force ?
think i better make one by myself ? is it rather simple as cutting and connecting wires to a cloth,
or it is more complex design that i could hardly achieve and i better get a ready one ?
i came across this as the only parachute i could find:
It looks sturdy and well balanced & stuff... it's totally affordable !
they say the 40" version has 7KG resistance. i'm safe on this side, i dont want a much bigger one.
how about the opening technique ?
i could stuff it in a small plastic tube attached to the top of the dome, using a small solenoid or servo to kick it out...
how do i ensure it opens reliably ? i guess it depends on the folding inside the storage tube...
Comments
Guys, i stick to the parachute, i know it's not a magical solution,
but as far it seems the best.
I have no idea how the quad might fall, but something makes me believe that the heavy DSLR at the bottom of the quad will keep it falling horizontally aligned (like the ground position), so hopefully the parachute will shoot vertical to sky....
I have had a lot of thought regarding "Fail Safe" solutions.
Recently I've taken this route from NASA. The Daily Planet had a piece about these and I was amazed at how simple but effective it was.
They are called "deployable energy absorbers".
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/aeronautics/features/helo-droptest.html.
On the TV show they were able to bring the G down by more than half.
Cheers!
The chute needs to get out into the relative wind in a hurry and deploy rapidly. This might mean a deployment system such as a ballistic charge but probably more likely spring loaded. I was a skydiver for almost thirteen years and my pilot chutes were all spring loaded. Pulling the ripcord separated the two halves of the container on my back which allowed the pilot chute to spring out and catch the wind.
If you were to deploy too soon (or by accident) on your copter rig, there might not be any relative wind to act upon the chute, if the copter wasn't falling, and the chute could possibly tangle around one of more of the props. If you were to deploy while the copter were falling and tumbling, this too could end in disaster. A parachute is not a 100% fail safe method. It would be interesting to have inflated air bags much like the Mars landers but of course not real practical in this hobby.
If you wish to look futher into parachutes, here are some links that will help you design, buy materials to make your own or purchase ready made products that might work.
http://www.pcprg.com/sptp.htm
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Parachute.html?Comments%5Bdo%5D=mod...
http://www.aeraustral.com.au/parachute.php
http://www.strongparachutes.com/pages/pc_intro.php
http://www.paragear.com/templates/base_template.asp?group=27#P2550
http://www.paragear.com/templates/parachutes.asp?group=193&level=1
http://hienergy.tripod.com/Hang%20gliding/PC%20misconceptions.htm
http://www.aerosekur.com/parachutes/parachutes_index.html
http://www.olywa.net/yosemiteflash/parequip.htm
http://www.thirtythousandfeet.com/parachut.htm
http://www.apogeerockets.com/parachutes.asp
Best of luck
Gary
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=...
Someone can translate text on that vdo?
I don't believe a quad free falling from 700m not even bending one arm.
Anyway, even if the drone landed with no damage, could be fatal if it felt on people.
PS: I like the motor mounts
YES.