Udrones, which has been selling ready-to-fly ArduCopters for a while, is now also selling a ready-to-fly ArduPlane. APM assembled, ArduPlane code loaded and everything tested. Just add your own RC gear. $995.
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Very simply the stock bixler has a number of flaws.
(1) Lack of a strong carbon rod in between the wings. The included carbon rod will crack if you stare at it too hard.
(2) Prop. The stock prop is a very poor in relation to the 2.49$ 6x4 prop that you can buy at any hobby store. If you will examine the machine produced by @Sgt. Ric who praises this item you will certainly note that he personally does not use the stock prop and has also replaced it. It is very noisy and inefficient.
(3) Lack of carbon spars added to the the craft. There are 3 additional places a stock bixler needs carbon spars. Two on the tail and one going along the fuselage. These make a huge difference in the flight characteristics. Especially, when you are carrying heavy equipment like FPV gear or APM gear.
(4) Lack of a rudder mod. The rudder on the stock bixler is completely superfluous. You can either just not use it or you can mod it to make it larger to make it effective.
(5) Lack of extreme packing tape or wrap. The stock bixler nose and underside will be torn apart in a few standard belly landings if it is not covered in a wrap. I use extreme packing tape, but I can assure you that this craft will be sold sans any form of wrap. As of now I can pitch my bixler at a wall and the nose will be unharmed. If it was not wrapped prior to flight even a minor nose in landing will lead to the entire nose of the plane coming apart. The only way you can prevent this is to either manually catch it every time or perform a perfect landing. This propensity for the nose to crack will also lead to the electronics pod being destroyed. I have an FPV pod that I could post pictures of to prove this, as they are made of the exact same material.
(6) Lack of wing holding mods. There are numerous wing holding mods. Some people embed magnets in the wing. Other people use rubber bands and 3M hooks. If a wing holding mod isn't use the plane can have its wings pull out of their sockets in flight. If glue is used transportation becomes a problem and rough landings become much rougher and repairs also become harder.
My objection let me be clear is not to the use of bixler. If was going to spend 1000$ I would personally like a 300$ Maja (http://fpv-community.com/testblog/2010/borjet-maja-uav/).
My objection is to a 1000$ price tag for what amounts to pre-soldered electronics which you can get for from udrones for about $400? combined with 50$ worth of laser cut wood and a 75$ shipped hobbyking unmodified plane should now be obvious.
For 1000$ dollars and bixler platform I expect FPV and APM and at least a basic remote and receiver. As it stands now it is in my estimation it is about 300-400$ overcosted even for a rich guy/gal giving them a healthy 600-700$ for everything.. Also, it's going to be wreaked in the first crash. Trust me. No wrap = epic crash damage for a newb.
@David: If this is the Bixler (most likely) what is wrong with it? It is the perfect plane for the kind of first time costumer most likely to get a ArduPlane RTF kit. Flies like a dream, great build quality (foam quality and parts fit) and is easy to repair. The included prop as you said is noisy, but takes a beating because it flexes. What would you recommend as a better alternative for the beginners wanting to test out UAV? Many people have the interest, but not the background needed or time available to research and build a UAV setup the traditional way. So the only solution for them is to throw money at the problem.
Crutial thanks for your support this whole year!
Stay alert, low-cost RTF UAVs are right around the corner.
Gigio - Udrones Store - www.udrones.com
Having assembled a couple APM packages and EZStar planes, I know it doesn't take long for all the component costs to add up, so its well worth this package price!
Wow $1000 bucks, well at least it looks cool.
Well at $1200 (with xbees) it seems a crazy price but for new users to both flying and uav it is an opprounity to avoid a whole lot of learning :)
i bought my APM solderd from udrones with excelend service, speed and pricing from the other end of the world, but they've must done a mistake here in pricing.. 1200usd for ardubixler & telemetry??? if i buy 530 for arduplane presolderd, 75 for bixler, 25 for avionics base and 150 for telemetry, i steel keep 200 to pay my self for open then boxes and press firm upload...
its an excelend idea -lets say gift for Xmas -but something didnt calculated right.
I will re-word my comments because I was informed that some of the words I was using to describe this might have legal implications. I personally applaud the production of ready made FPV and drones for the uber rich consumer. I love more people at the field. I however, respectfully believe that if high prices are to be charged a high quality product needs to be delivered from both the electronic side and plane side. I have little to zero knowledge of the electronics that go into this drone, as I personally use eagle tree for all my needs, but I feel that the plane that is being sold in this particular package is inconsistent with the quality standards that I expect in such in such a high ticket item specifically a high ticket item being endorsed by this fine website. I would be pleased to outline in full detail the surprisingly cheap upgrades (in relation to it's monetary cost) that this plane needs in order to be a really great plane for starting drone research. I am sorry again to the mods for using loaded language, but I just am very passionate about quality and given about year with exclusively this plane I can basically say with confidence that it's going to break after the first few flights likely destroying the electronics bay unless several changes are made.
It's very traditional to charge a lot of money to set up the electronics on a plane from scratch. They do claim to do all the soldering and they did probably build that canopy. I just object to the fact that at that price they are selling you a junk plane. There is a link to the plane --->
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&a...
It's actually a great plane once it's upgraded, but that takes a few hours effort to get it right.
I can not see how it added up to 995 USD ? the price seems to be very high unless I am missing something.
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