Anyone into flying Quadcopters/Drones?

[94Z28]

Just recently I started a build on a DIY Brushless drone.. it's coming together slowly and I'm building it with used eBay/Craigslist parts and gonna be buying a new flight controller (not sure which.. still researching. Will have GPS and such).

Anyway I got me some of what they call "toy-grade quads" to learn the ropes and I must say they are tons of fun. I will have some awesome pics soon once I'm done upgrading the cams on my X8.

I have purchased the Syma X5SW and the Syma X8, they're very affordable and we'll worth it. Plus they're very simple and cheap to repair, great for us DIY geeks. I would recommend picking one up if you are interested in flying on a budget! Plus they can both be had for under 100$ with FPV (first person view).

Will post some pics soon of my X5 and the mods I've done, let me know if your flying! I really want to go crazy on the brushless build with some insane XHP70 led spotlight and some colored COB stuff to.

 

[lasersbee]

For first time Quad pilots... a less than $20 RTF quad
like the Eachine E010 is the way to learn. The controls
are identical to the more expensive multi-rotors out
there. Here's a link....
http://www.banggood.com/Eachine-E010-Mini-2_4G-4CH-6-Axis-Headless-Mode-RC-Quadcopter-RTF-p-1066972.html?rmmds=search

I have about 15 small brushed Quads. I also have
6 larger DIY brushless quads with GPS and FPV and
one Hexacopter that will get a 2 Axis Gimbaled FPV
camera. Also have 2 tri-copters without GPS.

For Xmas I bought a DJI Phantom 4 Pro+. That's my
new toy. Just waiting for the warmer weather for it's
first flight.

Jerry

 

[94Z28]

That's sweet :drool:

All the toys I wish I had lmao. In time I guess they will come! Thanks for the link to the Eachine, I will pick one up to try it as well.

I have flown a F550 hex I believe it's called, I didn't go extreme with it or anything as I knew it was an expensive rig. He told me it could fly above the clouds if he wanted it to... those guys at DJI know their stuff.

Let's see a pic of your favorite one when you get a chance.

 

[CurtisOliver]

I do want to get my own drone, but crashing it is probably the likely scenario with myself as the pilot.

Very nice drone you have Jerry. I have seen that drone at an exhibit in London. So expensive. I bet you are looking forward to its maiden flight.
And it is cool you are building one yourself 94Z28. Good luck with that. :beer:

Show us when you do get it flying Jerry, and same to you 94Z28.

 

[GSS]

I don't have one and like Curtis I would smash it in minutes,
though just recently I saw World Class drone racing on the Sports Channel.
I will say they had these great setups in some type of abandoned factory
I can't even do remote control cars..going straight is no issue but coming towards me I steer it the wrong way..

 

[CurtisOliver]

I'm glad i'm not alone on that one. I have watched enough videos of people destroying their drones on their first minute of flight. Some are pretty hilarious though.

The racing drones are amazing. I have seen some great videos of those high speed drones in action.
Me and my friends thought up the idea of drone wars (drone version of robot wars). I think that would be pretty entertaining. Although of course others have had the same idea, because why not.

 

[grainde]

I built a hexa with a Tarot 680pro frame, including FPV using a gopro with a 3 axis gimbal. Controller is a Naza V2 and the motors are from tiger (MN3508-20 (580kv)). It can lift around 5 kgs in addition to its weight (without FPV gear), but I would actually prefer longer flight times. At present with FPV it can fly for about 13 mins mixed flight, and without FPV (extra battery, camera and gimbal) it can fly for 20 mins or so.

If I were to build another one Id go for a large quad to enable bigger props and lower Kv motors with 6s to up the flight time.

This is a pic without the gimbal and gopro.

And heres a video of my first flight with it.

Hexacopter Maiden flight_zpshakoun7k.mp4 Video by grainde | Photobucket


At present Im practicing FPV on an Eachine Racer 250 which I have regularly rebuilt and modded. The racer now has the transmitter on the back to enable a larger battery, Ive also swapped out and tested multiple controllers mainly going back and forth between CC3D and the naze 32 units before finally deciding on a naze32 F3 SP racing board.

A great little practice quad is the syma X5C its extremely stable and easy to fly and I did a review of one here.:beer:

 

[CurtisOliver]

Very nice Grainde. :beer:
Thanks for the recommendation for those not so skilled at piloting.
Not a bad price for the X5C either.

 

[lasersbee]

Very nice drone you have Jerry. I have seen that drone at an exhibit in London. So expensive. I bet you are looking forward to its maiden flight.
And it is cool you are building one yourself 94Z28. Good luck with that. :beer:

Show us when you do get it flying Jerry, and same to you 94Z28.

Thanks and will do. Can't wait for the warmer weather....
Yeah the P4P is expensive but I needed a Good/Safe high
quality Camera platform for a new agricultural project....:yh:

I can't even do remote control cars..going straight is no issue but coming towards me I steer it the wrong way..

This is a trick that helped me when I first started in R/C
way back...
When the R/C vehicle is coming back towards you...
turn slightly and point the transmitter in the direction
your R/C vehicle is going. Then right is right and left
is left.

I built a hexa with a Tarot 680pro frame, including FPV using a gopro with a 3 axis gimbal. Controller is a Naza V2 and the motors are from tiger (MN3508-20 (580kv)). It can lift around 5 kgs in addition to its weight (without FPV gear), but I would actually prefer longer flight times. At present with FPV it can fly for about 13 mins mixed flight, and without FPV (extra battery, camera and gimbal) it can fly for 20 mins or so.

If I were to build another one Id go for a large quad to enable bigger props and lower Kv motors with 6s to up the flight time.

And heres a video of my first flight with it.
Hexacopter Maiden flight_zpshakoun7k.mp4 Video by grainde | Photobucket

At present Im practicing FPV on an Eachine Racer 250 which I have regularly rebuilt and modded. The racer now has the transmitter on the back to enable a larger battery, Ive also swapped out and tested multiple controllers mainly going back and forth between CC3D and the naze 32 units before finally deciding on a naze32 F3 SP racing board.

A great little practice quad is the syma X5C its extremely stable and easy to fly and I did a review of one here.:beer:

That's a nice Hexacopter and you seem to have good flying
control over it.

I've attached a few pics of my handbuilt Brushless Muti-Rrotor
stable and some of the transmitters I use. I also have about
20 R/C planes. Including an 8 Foot span Cub J4.
A few of my 2 Meter and 1.5 meter wingspan FPV planes have
GPS Return To Home if I initiate it manually or it initiates
automatically if the plane is out of transmitter range.


Jerry

 

[CurtisOliver]

Thanks Jerry. Agricultural project? Sounds interesting.

 

[lasersbee]

Trying to justify the high price of the P4P
and offset it's cost if possible.

Jerry

 

[CurtisOliver]

I need to do that with my lasers sometimes.
Although actually offsetting the cost is a little bit more difficult.

 

[Crazlaser]

I fly a Blade 180QX. Kinda cheap but it's fun for the park. I also have a 1.5 meter apprentice S 15e which I've flown to over 4200 feet before the FAA enacted laws to keep model craft below 400 feet. I also own the Eflite Commander mPd and Eflite Habu 32x. Some of these DX long range transmitters have quite impressive range. I have a DX7 and DX5e.

 

[grainde]

Very nice Grainde. :beer:
Thanks for the recommendation for those not so skilled at piloting.
Not a bad price for the X5C either.

Thanks, its much better to practice on smaller less expensive quads first especially when trying FPV. Ive actually crashed the big one a couple of times and it is much more painful for the pocket. :beer:

That's a nice Hexacopter and you seem to have good flying
control over it.

I've attached a few pics of my handbuilt Brushless Muti-Rrotor
stable and some of the transmitters I use. I also have about
20 R/C planes. Including an 8 Foot span Cub J4.
A few of my 2 Meter and 1.5 meter wingspan FPV planes have
GPS Return To Home if I initiate it manually or it initiates
automatically if the plane is out of transmitter range.

Jerry

Cheers Jerry! The Naza is incredibly stable in GPS mode and will just sit there even in strong wind. The PIDs are well set up from the start and it has fantastic control without even touching them - definitely a different to the naze32 or a CC3D boards...

Anyway you have an amazing collection of hexas, quads and tricopters! Have you got any flying videos or videos of them in action?:beer:

 

[94Z28]

Awesome guys and I definitely recommend the Syma x5 to you guy saying you'll crash.. they're simple to fly and you can easily change position of the quad when coming back to you when starting out! They're cheap and we'll worth a go.

Nice pics that brushless rig is sweet.. something like I will do but less cam equipment and more spotlight I think.

 

[grainde]

Perhaps like this?

Hopefully you dont mean a high power laser that would be too dangerous. RHD built one on a heli to test but took it apart afterwards... Anselmo made one on a copter.. :beer: