Comments

• 

  flyingdragon January 21, 2014 at 1:46pm

  I would love to see an RC helicopter flying 2.5 hours that  big and can carry 30 KG plus it's load will be real hack!

  but again the bigger the helicopter is the bigger the blades and the components,

  I had Bergen helicopter few years a go I build it for 10 days, here is it, but alas my friend crashed before I even tried to do the first hover:)
• 

  Nate Miller January 21, 2014 at 1:42pm

  We did our work on APM 2.0 - 2.5. Haven't gotten my hands on a 2.6 yet, but they're all nearly the same.

  The Rotor Buzz comes with a really low quality autopilot. If you put an APM on it as far as I know that'll be the first.
• kevin zhou January 21, 2014 at 1:33pm

  Thanks all the experience from your guys. 

  @Nate Miller:  So you have make all the function you mention below ? quite commercialized stuffs. Do you make these optimazations base on APM 2.6 or base on pixhawk? I am interesting in pixhawk for it realtime system and hardware recovery design, but I have no idea these already implemented or just a plan and hardware ready for it.  Roto Buzz looks really cool, but the price is really hot. I just wondering if they implemented it by APM 2.6 hardware ?
• 

  David Boulanger January 21, 2014 at 11:19am

  Nate,  I think the latest code has come along way.  I am running 3.0.1 and have had no problems with it.  Flying 1 meter off the ground in loiter without enabling the sonar is no problem.  If I did it for 10 minutes then yes the barometer would most likely give a false altitude.  I think version 2.9 was the initial breakthrough in TRAD HELI.  Try the new versions I think you will be impressed.  My APM sits below the heli frame and my only real issue is my vibes on the Y-axis are about +-.2.  I think it's just a little to far below the center of gravity. I have never seen ground effect turbulence disrupt a extremely slow landing in any of the automodes.

  Regards

  David Boulanger
• 

  Nate Miller January 21, 2014 at 10:55am

  Rob: PM me and I'll fill you in on my experience with my Bergen machine.

  David: The Arducopter code, while supportive of traditional helis, has an awful lot of optimizations for multirotors, and when I branched my code at ArduCotper 2.8.1, was full of bugs. I had to re-do how the CPPM mixing was done for swash plates so we could handle an RC multiplexer fail safe, add libraries for rotor speed feedback and camera interface, add a few control laws to govern the rotor speed for gasoline engines, add safety features to kill the gas engine (ground the magneto) in even of electrical system failure, re-do the gimbal library to stabilize better and support more intuitive user interfacing from the GS, adjust the acro mode control laws to account for a flybar, adjust the heading control laws to account for an external gyro so that, in the even of an autopilot failure, the heli can be easily hand flown, completely redo the embedded side of the mission scripting (there were so many bugs there that only navigation command mission items would function properly), and others that I probably don't recall at the moment. I haven't looked at any code since 2.8.1, so it may be better now. There is also an issue with having the baro beneath the rotor blades. Ground effect causes the baro to get some strange readings on takeoff and landing. I never figured out a good fix to that one.
• 

  Rob_Lefebvre January 21, 2014 at 10:41am

  All: These discussions really don't get much attention here.  Please try to discuss things on the new forum:

  http://ardupilot.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=66&sid=2751bf716c509...

  Kevin Zhou:  Hard to say if it's mature enough, because nobody has done it, but I like to think so.  There really have not been any crash-o-matic bugs for some time.  Most crashes are user error, or hardware failure.

  Nitro would not be a good fuel choice.  You should use gasoline.  But 30kg payload means you have a VERY large helicopter.  I'm not aware of anything affordable.  10kg is much more reasonable.

  flyingdragon: 2 hours is completely possible.  It's been done on electric even.  World record is 2.5 hours.  With gasoline, it's actually pretty easy.

  How do you say there is no firmware available?  You guys are aware Arducopter can fly a heli in full auto, right?

  Nate: I'd be interested to hear more about your experiences with Bergen.

  Same comment on the code.  A year of re-writing?  This is here now.
• 

  David Boulanger January 21, 2014 at 10:08am

  Nate,  I don't understand a year of rewriting code.  What needs to be changed?? 

  I have had no problems with it whar so ever.  Why nitro?  2 cycle is probably a better choice.  Its going to be all about vibration and dampening.  Multi cylinder might be a bit smoother.

   

  Regards

  David Boulanger
• 

  Nate Miller January 21, 2014 at 7:50am

  The Rotor Buzz II will meet your requirements, but it's around $100,000. I'd suggest modifying your project requirements. For something that big you'll need special FAA certifications that are right now extremely difficult to get.

  I'd stay away from Bergen machines if I were you. I've had some terrible, terrible experiences with them. They aren't well designed or manufactured.

  As far as the software goes, with about 1 year re-writing code you can get arducopter to fly a traditional helicopter pretty well.
• 

  flyingdragon January 20, 2014 at 9:26am

  I don't think that any RC Helicopter will go for 2 hours flying time!

  but to go with nitro is the wrong way, gas is better choice, you can go mybe about 30 minutes flying time or if you get longer than 800 blades then  you may go for hour assume that you will put bigger gas container, Bergenrc.com is your start, about the ardupilot; there is no frimware or code yet support complete UAV flight!

  

  Welcome to Bergen R/C - /Index
• kevin zhou January 20, 2014 at 8:46am

  I need some suggestion from you experience guys.

  I am thinking to use Pixhawk to make some big UAV helicopter. do you think current version of firmware of helicopter is mature enough to handling a big helicopter? 

  When I am taking big helicopter, I am thinking about a nitro helicopter within 2 hours duration. 30 km flight radius. 30 kg payload expectation.

  Someone can give me some guide about it ?  Also a suitable air frame is not easy to find, which company produce this kind of good helicopter with a good price ? 

  Thank you so much.