Skwalker X8 catapult

With the amount of equipment in my X8 is on the increase, so is the weight. Its becoming very difficult and somewhat dangerous to hand launch. 

Iv decided to build a catapult. I dont like the idea of a bungee launcher because of the amount of flat space required. some places I fly dont have this.(eg: off a cliff =) ) I really wanted something self-contained and foldable.

 

The APM flies the X8 really well BTW =)

 

If anyone wants to build one I have posted all the info and pics here

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Comments

  • Very cool..I like this one.

  • Thanks Andrew. As far as I can remember I'm logging everything possible so I will have look at the logs. Else I will make sure it's logging next launch.
  • Developer

    Nice work Brett!

    Do you happen to have a dataflash log with IMU logging enabled during a successful launch? I'd be very interested in looking at what acceleration figures you get.

    We've also built a catapult for our X8, although we've only tested it on a SkyFun so far. We've had a problem with friction between the carrier and the beam, and your idea of skateboard bearings looks great!

    Cheers, Tridge

  • wow great!

  • Will do Brett!

  • Great piece of engineering Brett, I'm also going to build one once I've put together my X8, btw your X8 looks pretty neat too. Thanks for sharing.

  • Good work mate.

  • Thanks guys. Peter, please post pics when you are done =)

  • Well done Brett..well done!

  • Brett, that is one of the best and simplest catapults I have ever seen. Well done! I am going to attempt to build one from you pic's and thanks for sharing!

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