Yesterday Was the first successful transition flight of my Nano Quadplane. After limited success a few years ago with two separate pixhawks on the VTOL Anaconda, I decided it wasn't feasible to use multiple Pixhawks/Pilots for anything other than a tech demo.
Now with all of the work done by the Devs for creating the quadplane code (awesome work gents!), I was inspired once again to make something that worked as seamlessly as imagined back then. I knew there would be challenges and a large margin for failure, so I chose a small EPP plane to minimize damage and rebuilding. Turns out I don't think I've ever seen a quadplane that uses Arduplane/pixhawk this small, so I thought I would share this with everyone. It took about a week to make and probably took it apart and back together no less than 10 times...seriously there is so much crammed in the fuselage I don't think there is room for air.
In this flight I was running Arduplane 3.7, and have yet to test some of the advanced features like weathervaning and pusher motor position hold assist. Using old batteries so I can only hover for about one minute, so no time for autotune. All gains were done manually the old fashioned way, though they still aren't perfect. Now that I am confident and familiar with the code, I will try again on a much larger model (2 meter+ wingspan) with decent flight time and payload carrying ability.
Nano VTOL Full Specifications-
AUW: 610g
Endurance with VTOL Takeoff/Landing: 12 Minutes
Autopilot: Pixhawk 1 with GPS, 900mhz Telemetry, & Power Module
Firmware: Arduplane 3.7.0
Airframe: RMRC Skyhunter Nano RTF
Battery: Turnigy Nano-tech 4s 850mah 45C
Pusher Motor: Multistar 2206-2150kv
Pusher ESC: 3DR 20A w BEC
Pusher Prop: 5x5 Tri-Blade
Lift Motors: Emax 1306 4000kv
Lift ESCs: DYS 20A
Lift Props: 3x3 Quad Blade
FPV: RMRC 25mw 5.8ghz all in one Tx + Camera
Also if anyone would like the file to 3D print the booms send me an email: Joseph@suavx.com
Thanks again to the Devs and Testers who made this possible-
Comments
I love it! I'd been thinking of building a tiny one based on the Disco, but this is even smaller. Great!
I think you could get a 1000mah or even 1400mah in there, but there are a few problems. For one, its too nose heavy with anything larger than the 850mah. Second, the AUW is already at 610g when RMRC recommends under 375g for this platform. Not only that but the drag of the quad motor props and structure make the L/D ratio much lower.
So in short, this configuration is really just a novelty was built just to test the code features and functions with minimal risk. Any real improvements on something this size would require a scratch build, but I would love to see it done-
That is sweet! Do you think you are maxed out at 12 minutes with that setup or do you think more battery can be squeezed into that setup.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next