Multirotor Endurance and setup...

[timnilson]

fpvmanuals Pro Tricopter Delrin Kit with 6600mah 4s and NX-4008 motors. 28:30 total hover time


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fpvmanuals QAV500 FPV Quadcopter with 5000mah 4s. 14:30 total hover time


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[RTRyder]

Two DJI F series quads, one a 330, the other a 450, plus an MK quad with full nav and using a GoPro as the FPV cam. Both DJI have Naza flight controllers with GPS and all DJI motors, ESCs, etc. The 330 is Immersion 5.8 600mw, Bluebeam RHCP antenna on 30 cm mast, Sony SN777 cam, an AR8000 with satellite, and flying on 3S 5000 packs and Graupner 9 x 5 props. Normal flying I get around 14 - 15 minutes before hitting 80% discharge, I usually limit flight time to 10 to 12 minutes to be nice to the batteries. Eventually it will also have a TinyOSD once I get the problem with the non-working GPS module resolved. Real estate to put things on the frame is limited and it's all tightly packed but the little quad flys really nice and is my favorite short range FPV multi. Longest distance so far is about 2000 feet at roughly 400 feet altitude, could probably go further but that would put me over houses and streets and I don't want to push my luck with the 2.4 gHz JR radio even with the failsafe RTH setup and tested (it works as advertised).

The 450 also uses the DJI motors and ESCs but is now morphing into my long range quad with EZUHF and RMRC 1.3 gHz video. Was out flying this morning and got the courage to go zipping along between the trees as I do with the little 330 forgetting how much bigger the 450 is. Snagged the Bluebeam on a branch which then pulled it into one of the props and the resulting havoc turned the antenna into twisted spaghetti and the ensuing bump into mother earth snapped one of the 10 x 5 Graupners, I think. The prop damage may have been collateral from the guillotine act it pulled with the antenna, no way to know for sure other than the Bluebeam is trashed and the quad landed upright but with busted landing legs so it came down kinda hard. Flight time is just a little bit less than the 330, both use the same 3S 5000 packs, no idea what the range will ultimately be, I just started flying it with the UHF and 1.3 a couple days ago and I'm still refining the setup when not repairing crash damage...

The Mk is a completely different flying experience from the DJIs, not as sporty but a lot more stable overall and the Remzibi OSD works well even if its GPS is a but on the slow side.

This is the F330...





The MK after a little unintended landing event a couple months ago, it has since been fully rebuilt better, stronger, faster, etc, etc...

[BCSaltchucker]

hey RT I love the antenna tower! Might be just the ticket for my issues - get a fair amount of interference from the quad where mine is currently located.

[flouSH]

Hi Tim,

that's the most valuable post I've seen for a while. It show that long endurance is possibly with a well designed frame and the right components on top.

I would love to buy four of those motors at your shop... do you know when they are stocked again? I really like the long cables of yours, but just out of curiosity: How do the NX-4005 compare to them? (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=17922) Just a bit more power? Another important question: The shaft isn't protruding to the bottom a bit, right? (Like with the DT-750s - really annoying!)

Also: How important are props from your experience? I've read this paper (http://www.ae.illinois.edu/m-selig/p...Propellers.pdf) which suggested that differences are HUGE between the different vendors and that none is really optimized for multicopters... I would love to see you offering something better here. Maybe you can get in contact with your peers and work something out. The paper says MasterAirscrew are quite good... any experience with them?

And last but not least: 3s vs. 4s... is there any fundamental difference/advantage to this choice in context of "flight endurance"? I also heard that there's something like a new standard which leads to 7V use for all Rx/Tx/servos/etc. parts - is that related to maximum performance/endurance in any way?

Thanks!

Edit: Two more things... sorry for getting a bit lengthy here:
- How about flashed ESCs, any experience with this? I've heard that it adds to endurance as it's a more efficient power up/down.
- Offtopic (not related to endurance): Would you suggest the FM or NX (given I have my own frame with custom mounting holes anyways), the fixture of the prop seems really cool with the FM...

[SecretSpy711]

CurryKitten, yours looks nearly identical to mine. On a single 3S 2200, I am only getting 5 minutes. On a 3000, about 8 minutes. I have tried the two 2200's in parallel, but I didn't time it... it will lift it but by the end of the pack I'm at full throttle for hovering. I'm also at nearly 6,000 feet elevation, using 10x4.7 props.

[timnilson]

Hi Tim,

that's the most valuable post I've seen for a while. It show that long endurance is possibly with a well designed frame and the right components on top.

I would love to buy four of those motors at your shop... do you know when they are stocked again? I really like the long cables of yours, but just out of curiosity: How do the NX-4005 compare to them? (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=17922) Just a bit more power? Another important question: The shaft isn't protruding to the bottom a bit, right? (Like with the DT-750s - really annoying!)

Also: How important are props from your experience? I've read this paper (http://www.ae.illinois.edu/m-selig/p...Propellers.pdf) which suggested that differences are HUGE between the different vendors and that none is really optimized for multicopters... I would love to see you offering something better here. Maybe you can get in contact with your peers and work something out. The paper says MasterAirscrew are quite good... any experience with them?

And last but not least: 3s vs. 4s... is there any fundamental difference/advantage to this choice in context of "flight endurance"? I also heard that there's something like a new standard which leads to 7V use for all Rx/Tx/servos/etc. parts - is that related to maximum performance/endurance in any way?

Thanks!

Edit: Two more things... sorry for getting a bit lengthy here:
- How about flashed ESCs, any experience with this? I've heard that it adds to endurance as it's a more efficient power up/down.
- Offtopic (not related to endurance): Would you suggest the FM or NX (given I have my own frame with custom mounting holes anyways), the fixture of the prop seems really cool with the FM...

The NX-4005 have less power -- 130 Watts versus 180 Watts of the NX-4008. They are also physically smaller motors meant for lighter airframes. I have never tried the NX-4005 though.

The shaft on the NX-4000 series motors is not protruding out the bottom a lot, but it is flush with the bottom, so you still need a hole underneath the NX series motors.

On props -- they make a huge difference in terms of performance, vibrations, and endurance. I have not tried Master Airscrews personally. The best props I know are the Graupner E-Props.

On 3s vs 4s -- I fly all my multi-rotors with 4s lipos. In combination with high torque multi-rotor motors like the NX-4008 or FM-4008, this provides great power and long flight times.

[Kenny9999]

1. HT-FPV quad
2. No idea of the weight
3. BP2217 950kv
4. APC 10"
4. Turnigy 3S 5A or thunderPower 3S 5A

Get about 12-13 min of flight!



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[Malcr001]

Someone needs to grill some info out of this guy:

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[flouSH]

That's pretty impressive. Judging from his YouTube comment response he's not the guy who spreads every single detail right away...

Still: If you collect all the infos from his videos you should figure quite some bits out. The motors in one video looks very similar to the NX series.

Does anybody know more about his project? Does he want to sell kits? Is it a self-developed FC?


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The software you see in this video... is it something popular or also homebrew?

Cheers
Flo

@Tim: Thanks for your answers!

[viper522]

Maybe he rented a crane for 2 hours and threw a fishing line over it. On a Hex, too. They are terrible on battery.