SPECS:
cruise speed - 27knots
max speed - 55knots
max weight - 4.4 lbs
flight time - 1 hour+
climb rate - 2000 ft/min
features :
EPP wings and tail
carbon fiber tail boom
clear lexan ,fully removable top hatches
clear acrylic "camera quality" dome
pan/tilt camera mount
retail price will be approx $150-$200
Comments
waiting for supplies for a first run of 10 . supplies should be in next week . I hope to start shipping the following week . i will announce a more firm date as soon as i can get delivery confirmation on the major parts.
thanks
wayne
I wonder what percentage of a drone could be made from recycled materials
Only joking I like the idea, looks strong, plenty of space and appears to have an excellent viewing angle for a protected internal camera equipment.
I am very thankful for your suggestions . and you are dead on about the T tail . Tail weight was a major problem given the long moment of the tail and the short nose moment . also its good to see someone consider quality not just price . domes can be purchased for less but they come with a molding nipple smack dab in the middle defiantly not good for looking through .
ps just discussed that camera on my techpod 2.0 blog
I should have noted that a T tail would be a bad match for your pusher setup; you'd get a lot (more) tail shake from the propwash and even more thrust/pitch sensitivity coupling; my phrasing may have been bad, I just meant to imply that low tails tend to catch on things and something that raised the entire tail of the airframe a bit on landing *might* help.
The Parkflyerplastics folks have been doing replaceable belly pans for a few models; there might be an opportunity there...
At any rate, please keep us updated. If you have a chance to look at the 10x zoom camera showing up on a few sites vs. your dome, that'd be very interesting...
thanks for the comments .
- the final design will see the camera centered in the dome . i just goofed up and glued on the mounting tabs on the wrong side of the support table .
- the dome can be replaced by removing two philips screws . scratching the dome has been a big concern . as of yet i have not scratched the dome on landing . if you look at the side view picture you can see it is and inch or two higher then the lowest part of the fuse . so far i have not seen it rock forward on landing .camera quality domes are hard to manufacture and it will be very hard to get the price for a single dome under $13.00 . I have them made for me and for now and i am always up to do things less expensively but i do not want to comprise quality. I see the dome as the most important feature . it has the most effect on the end product - the sweet video you can get .
- belly damage is a concern as well . one thought i have is to make a polycarbonate molded fuse piece .that would replace the balsa underbelly.
- the tail is joined to the tail boom by a 2mm carbon rod that reaches about 2" from the tips of the horizontal stab . it is rock solid . and the EPP can really take its punishment .although aerodynamically speaking the T-tail would be superior . If the customers demand it , I will change.
lastly - i used the EZG wings on my alfa prototype . these are not from the EZG . they are based on the RG-15 airfoil .
A couple of observations;
- More provision for aligning the camera within the dome would be good; with the horizontal where it is, you'd be hard-pressed to have the camera sensor at the focal point of the dome. Image quality will suffer with the sensor offset as you have it.
- You want to make it as easy as possible to remove/replace the dome, as it's going to get scratched on landing. You should sell them in packs of three, too. I know I'd buy a set...
- Similarly, a strategy for dealing with belly damage would be good; either a replaceable pan or skid assembly.
- The low tail is a landing damage risk. I realise that a T or + would be mechanically difficult, may warrant a skid or similar at the back to help keep the tail up out of the grass/weeds on landing.
It looks like you're re-using the EZG wings - if so, that's a neat idea.
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